The Salsbery's

Birthday Parties!

2012-02-14T18:26:00.000-08:00

January was certainly a busy one this year...as I am sure it will be for many years to come. We celebrated Aiden's 5th birthday and Makayla's 3rd! Aiden requested a Mickey Mouse party and Makayla was all about Dora the Explorer this year. It was fun but low key since I still was still feeling the remnants of first trimester ickyness. (side note: feeling much better now! officially 18 weeks and excited to announce we are having a boy!)
Aiden is such a blessing to us. He has the sweetest heart and we are truly enjoying watching him grow in his knowledge of the Lord. He loves people and LOVES it when anyone will play with him, especially if it involves wrestling, racing, or tag. Although his latest craze has been card games, in particular war or go fish. He is the first one in the door at preschool and is starting to get pretty excited about kindergarten next year! He is such a sweet buddy!
Aiden was so thankful to have his cousins at the party!

My big 5 year old! So hard to believe. I just love that smile!

And of course my sweet princess! Makayla is such a fun little girl. She loves to play princess, loves to be a mommy to her baby dolls (she can hardly wait for the baby in mommy's tummy to get here!), loves to paint,draw, or "write". She has the most amazing facial expressions and can charm a room full of people in a matter of seconds. She is all girl and we love that about her. Her prayers are so precious and it's wonderful to watch her grow and learn.
My big 3 year old!

I just love my cute munchkins! And I can't wait to meet munchkin #3!

Disney World

2011-11-18T10:53:00.000-08:00

Our big summer vacation this year was a trip to Disney World! We went back in August and took Kreg's parents with us. It was a fantastic week filled with many memories, especially for me as I watched my sweet kids take in every moment. Sadly I haven't gotten around to posting about Disney til now. oops. Day 1 was Magic Kingdom, Day 2 was a day of rest at the condo, Day 3 was a water park, Day 4 was Animal Kingdom, Day 5 was Magic Kingdom again, and Day 6 was Hollywood Studies.
One of our first stops on Day 1 was a picture with Mickey. I don't think the kids quite new what was going on yet. We had just barely begun our adventure and the next thing we knew we were having our picture taken with Mickey.

Aiden was just barely tall enough to ride on most of the rides which was great because he loved it! He wanted to go on everything he could. Makayla on the other hand was just young enough she didn't know what she was missing. And because she doesn't turn 3 until January she was still free! wooohooo! She was content watching some shows, ride a few of the kiddie rides, and hanging out in her stroller.

I loved introducing Makayla to the princesses. She is just started to get into the princess stage. And her face was precious when we met Bell. It was so cute...Bell asked her if she went in her closet and got one of her dresses. Makayla didn't quite know what to think but she's been playing "princess" a lot more since our trip.

A personal highlight of all the adults was our breakfast at the Crystal Palace. We ate breakfast with Pooh Bear and all his friends. It was soooooooo worth it. #1 it was HOT and the Crystal Palace was wonderfully air conditioned. And our reservation was for Wednesday and we were a bit tired. So when our waitress told us it would take about 90 mins for all the characters to get around to our table I think Kreg, his parents, and I all sang the Hallelujah Chorus! We got to drink coffee, eat eat and eat, and sit in the air conditioning for almost 2 hours!!

Overall it was a great trip. It was nice having extra help with Kreg's parents along for the adventure and it was a trip I will cherish. Below are a few more of my favorite pics

May I take your order....

2011-09-14T12:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to McDonalds...

It's a good thing she's not making real food or I'd weigh 300lbs!

The Summer Project

2011-09-07T10:43:00.000-07:00

The summer project we tackled this year was relandscaping the front yard. I have been looking forward to this project for over a year so it was fun to see it become a reality! The problem was it just wasn't that simple of a task. The lady that lived here before had dumped these flaky little pieces called chocolate mulch on top of red rock on top of white rock. So we had a mess to dig out before we could start doing much of anything in the way of landscaping. But after about a million wheel barrel loads of rocks to the woods next to our house we had it all just about rock free. I would load the wheel barrel in the morning (with my two little helpers by my side) but it would be too heavy for us to get to the woods so Kreg would dump it at lunch. Then we'd load it again in the afternoon and Kreg would dump it again when he came home at the end of the day. This routine went on for what seemed like weeks.
Below is a BEFORE picture. Pretty much everything you see in this picture came out and got replaced. (Its not the greatest picture so its hard to tell how desperately we needed a "curb-appeal" makeover. So just go with me on it) Something you cannot see is what you use to be along the left side of the sidewalk. Earlier in the summer we gutted that area and put grass seed down. Prior to the grass it was a mess of rocks and weeds. You can still see the outline of where the old flowerbed use to be. Also notice on the left of the picture a big muddy spot that has our well cap in the middle of it. What in the world were we supposed to do with that area??? Kreg had the perfect idea...

Kreg's great big idea for the well cap was a great big rock to go in front of it!! Sweet! What a great idea! So Kreg took the backhoe from the farm and went and got a huge rock from one of the fields. He spotted it last year during harvest. When we went to get it, it was larger than we had remembered and waaaaay down in the ground. It was doubtful there for a while whether that rock was meant to be in our yard or not. I'm still not sure how we got that thing out but thanks to Kreg's dad showing up to help we got it home.
This is what sat in our front yard for a night: (Aiden is showing how big the rock is!)

And then somehow we miraculously got the rock in just the perfect spot. Kreg told me wherever that thing landed was where it was stayin....so I was prayin it landed where it needed to. And it did!!! (nice driving honey!) Below is the finished product (big rock and all...complete with 20 some new plants!)

I don't think the pics do our "curb appeal" makeover justice but I still thought I'd share because I love our new look. Next year is the backyard!! That too is going to be quite the project....it's a good thing Kreg gets a break for a few months before starting that one.

School Boy

2011-09-03T04:56:00.000-07:00

I have gotten so far behind on this blog that I just feel overwhelmed everytime I look at it. So I keep neglecting it and hoping maybe the pictures will just post themselves and the cute witty captions will just magically appear. But alas day in and day out I open it to get to the other cute and witty blogs that are timely updated and everyday I see the same pictures of my kiddo's swimming. Where do I even start? I have pics of the kids riding their bikes, pics of our summer project (landscaping the front of our house), tons of pics from the week we spent in Disney World (yay!), pics of the kids playing McDonalds, and picks from a recent visit to my mom's house. Thus I just sit and think..."I should really blog something"....and then I don't do it.

So I'm going to take baby steps. We're going to start with Aiden's first day of Preschool which happened this week! He has been so excited to start school but when the day finally arrived the big guy changed his mind. He decided maybe school wasn't for him after all. I could tell while I was taking his picture on the front porch his mood was changing. He went from excited, to not so sure, to mad at me for taking pictures, to nope don't want to go to school mom I changed my mind. I felt bad for him. I too don't like new things when I don't know what to expect. His big tears almost made me cry. But he has a wonderful teacher that came outside and talked to each one of the kids before going in and she spent a little extra time with Aiden. And eventually she took his hand and walked him hand in hand inside the school. Away he went. And then I prayed...prayed he would truly enjoy his time at school....all while I truly enjoyed taking only 1 child for a jog in the stroller instead of two. It was much easier pushing only Makayla. So when the time came for me to pick Aiden back up I wasn't sure what to expect but out the door ran my very excited, grinning from ear to ear, big 4 1/2 year old! He loved it! (Hip hip hooray!) So when the 2nd day of preschool rolled around, instead of being the last one reluctanly going inside....he was the first one running inside! That was a nice feeling. He has since decided he is going to stay in preschool forever and is definitely not going to kindergarden next year! I'm just glad he's enjoying it that much.
So without further ado...I present to you....the school boy....

Hot hot hot!

2011-07-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful these days we have a pool to cool off in...
Aiden has learned to swim this summer and its been a big relief to know he can keep himself above water. And Aiden has turned into quite the fish too. He loves to jump off the side (or the diving board), dive down and touch the bottom, and stay under as long as he possibly can.

Makayla has gotten really good at using her floaties. It's quite impressive how she can kick her legs and get to just about anywhere she wants to go. I will be more relaxed though when this girl actually learns how to swim....you have to watch her like a hawk.

check out my muscle woman:

And a picture of myself i actually like...haha...so I had to include it.

Jamaica Missions Trip

2011-07-01T10:43:00.000-07:00

Is it really the first day of July? Yikes! What happened to June? Oh yes I know what happened....swimming as much as possible because Aiden is a little fish now, a missions trip to Jamaica with our church youthgroup, helping my parents pack up their house, my birthday, and helping my parents move...Yes I believe that would pretty much sum up the month of June. It was a busy one...but I digress.....

On June 11th Kreg and I flew out early early with lots of energetic teens and some other great youth leaders to Montego Bay, Jamaica. We had a great trip. The goal was to spread the gospel with all who would listen and praise the Lord because....many listened! We stayed right next to the Montego Bay airport but thankfully flights did not arrive or depart during the late night hours. This was the view from my bedroom window:

We were also directly across from what the locals call "the hip strip" meaning the Sea Wall. It's a great place to walk and witness and that's exactly what we did. We split up into groups and had some awesome conversations with many Jamaicans. The Jamaican people as a whole are very friendly. They love talking with you and don't mind spiritual topics at all so it makes it easy to steer the conversation to Jesus. I was so proud of our teens. Many of them shared their faith for the first time on this trip and all of them shared atleast once, if not mulitple times. In the evenings is when the hip strip was really happeneing. From about 8pm to 1 or 2 in the morning the wall is covered with people and they come blaring their Bob Marley, etc music. I was fair warned that I might not get much sleep but I thanks to the many who were praying for us and my exhausted state by the time my head hit the pillow I slept quite well. Here is a pic of the hip strip:

Our other mission was in the public schools. Surprisingly the public schools in Jamaica actually start with a daily devotional time. So we went into the schools and did their devotion time for them. The kids had an awesome skit that displayed some of the miracles Jesus did as well as his crucifixion. We sang songs with them, hung out with them, and had one of the teens share their testimony/share the gospel. So you may wonder if they have a daily devotional time then whats the need? Don't they already know about Jesus? Yes many of the kids in the public schools have learned John 3:16 as well as other popular verses but from what I could gather its more ritualistic. And because they are learning Scripture in school they have a head knowledge of Jesus but not a personal relationship with Jesus. Our goal was to make them see they have a need for a Savior...we all do...because we have all sinned. Here are a few pics from the schools:

We also went to an orphanage and did some work projects (I don't think I have ever sweated that much in my life). That is my one complaint about Jamaica. It was waaaayyyyyyy hot. You were a sticky, smelly mess from about 8:30am to 11pm when it was lights out. The kids were way sweet at the orphange as well, but sadly that's the one day we forgot to take our camera so no pics of those sweet ones. The hardest day for me was when we went to Westhaven Children's Home, it was a "camp" like place way up in the mountains where severaly to moderately disabled children/young adults spend their days/years either because they are not wanted or because they are too much for their parents to handle. It was challenging because many of them were all over you...wanting to hold your hand and take you all around the camp so there was no "personal space" for those that like that. I am one of them but I was so proud of the teens, especially the guys on our team. I heard zero complaining even though we were totally out of our comfort zones. The hardest part for me was feeding a 15 year old girl a bottle. I don't know what it was...I think it mostly just saddened me...but I was definitely holding back the tears at that point. Because we serve a loving and just God I think some day I will get to see this little girl in Heaven and I can't wait to meet her again in that setting and see her running around and feeding herself!

Of course we also had some fun time while in the Caribbean! We enjoyed the beautiful beaches and ocean as much as we could. One afternoon we went snorkeling and on our last day we went to Dunnes River Falls. It's a huge waterfall that you are actually allowed to climb up. If it were in the States I'm not sure it would be legal in Jamaica....No Problem Man!

It was a great trip and Kreg and I have both said we would definitely go on another mission trip to Jamaica. Next time though I think I'd like to go in Janaury...not June! My most apprehensive moments came just before leaving whenever I thought about being so far away from my kids but God blessed and sustained. And Aiden and Makayla did great with both Kreg's parents and my parents. After 8 days Aiden didn't even want us to come home! I guess its a blessing to have such well adjusted children.

A New Phase

2011-05-08T11:08:00.000-07:00

On April 30th we entered a new phase in life, involving practice schedules, concession stand hours, uniforms, games, and cheering my heart out (sometimes while freezing and/or wet)....yep you guessed it...Little League. It is hard for us to believe we have a son old enough to play t-ball! So far its been a great experience for him. He is one of the smaller ones on the team (being not quite 4 1/2) but he's learning and we're proud of him for trying. More than anything this year we just want him to get the exposure of being on a team with other kids and get a feeling for how the game is played. Next year maybe we'll work more on technique!
This is Aiden on opening day. We were so excited for the day but it turned out to be FREEZING that morning so it wasn't quite as fun as we had all imagined. Aiden told me he wasn't sure he wanted to play anymore because baseball is cold! I very hopefully reassured him that not all the games will be that cold. Thankfully we're going to see some 80 degree temps this week and maybe I'll even be able to work on a little tan while I cheer him on.

Aiden's team is the Reds. They are a good little team too. They don't keep score in the t-ball league and I like that so I have no idea if his team has won or lost their last 3 games but there were definitely some good plays made. In the picture below Aiden is in the bottom row on the left.

And here is a pic with some of his teammates as they all huddled together next to one of the bathrooms on opening day to try and get out of the wind for a few minutes. We all thought it was going to be warmer than it turned out to be so no one was dressed warm enough. When Aiden got up to bat his little fingers were so cold he could barely grip the bat. I felt so bad for him.

Kreg informed me as I sat there freezing on opening day that I better get use to it because I just began a long career of sitting in the stands watching our son play sports. I told him I will gladly sit there...next time I will just dress warmer! And that I did...at his next game I wore 2 pairs of pants, my old soccer socks, 3 shirts, a sweatshirt, a fleece jacket, and a hat and I was nice and warm! So I say cheers to many more years of little league (or soccer, basketball, football, etc)...whatever he decides he wants to play.

Easter

2011-05-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

No time to talk....at Panera "stealing" the internet for a minutes since our internet isn't working at home. My wonderful husband and father-in-law are working on it but until its up and running again I'm a bit limited on my world wide web abiltiies. Though I do feel a bit better having just checked me e-mail, paid bills, and read through facebook while having a yummy lunch. I wish I had time to tell you all about Easter but I only have time for pics....must go get my hair highlighted! I usually get my hair highlighted when spring rolls around each year...something fun for the summer months...but the real reason is because Kreg's 10 year class reunion is a week from Saturday...yep gotta get that highlight!

Home Improvements!

2011-04-26T10:06:00.000-07:00

I love home improving! At the end of June we will celebrate 1 year in this home. I have really enjoyed making this house into a home. While I dream of one day building a new house (that needs no home improving) there is something to be said for the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that goes along with home improvement projects. (It's almost addicting.) We started on day 1 by tearing one of the kitchen walls down and we've continued to slowly make changes. (inside and out) I'm only about 5 weeks late but as promised here are a few pics of our new swing set. It is yet to be totally finished but it has swings and a slide and well that's pretty much all that matters to the kiddo's.

My dad was a trooper that day. After working all morning on his own yard, he came up and worked all afternoon with Kreg. Thanks dad!

The next addition is that of the kids quilts! Check it out:

I'm so happy with the way they turned out. My next project will be putting decals of their names over their beds.
Another addition is that of our messaging center in our kitchen (complete with a decal of Prov. 3:5-6 I did on my cricut). This is a vision I was very excited to see come to fruition. Makes me feel so organized!

And our latest addition is that of a new oven! My wonderful husband found a fantastic new oven on craigs list for me. He was happy because we got a steal of a deal and I was more than happy because I now have an oven that no longer burns everything!! I can bake cookies again and they turn out golden instead of charcoal flavored! I guess Kreg must have gotten tired of eating my charcoal meals. : ) yay! Its got more bells and whistles then I dreamed of having and even does convection cooking (speed baking). I tried it when I baked cookies last week and loved it!

ps...Easter pics to come soon...

Life Update

2011-03-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy winter. Sorry faithful readers for the lack of updates.
In February we welcomed our 4th nephew! Baby Bennet as Makayla and Aiden refer to him! He is a cutey and then just last week we welcomed our 3rd niece, Rebecca Lyn! (babies, babies everywhere!)
The kids with Baby Bennet:

Makayla is particularly one very proud cousin!

Sweet little Rebecca:

I must say it was fun to visit this time around and not be the one being visited! I am enjoying holding these sweet babies and then being able to hand them back to their mommy's! :) I know my time will come again one day but I'm really enjoying life right now. The kids are starting to get more independent and they are really starting to play together which has been wonderful! And now that its actually starting to feel like spring outside we are enjoying the outdoors once again and loving every minute of it. This weekend Kreg is building the kids a swing set! They are very excited (as am I). Between that, Aiden's new bike he got for his birthday, and the sandbox I have a feeling we could just pack up the indoor toys and put them away for a few months because the kids are going to live outside til fall!
Something we are seeing a lot more around here is Makayla playing dress up. She is most definitely our little princess and her love for shoes has continued to grow, especially princess shoes. And it really doesn't matter what she's wearing (sweat pants, footie pj's, jeans,) some sort of shiny are sparkly shoe is often an added accessory.

Just for kicks here's a cute pic of the kids water color painting the other day. They pretty much do everything together. If one does something then the other has to do it too.

My big winter project has been quilts for the kids beds. Yep that's right...Stacey the quilter! I've had a lot of fun making them too. I got inspired when I saw a boy/girl room in a pottery barn magazine but knew Kreg would never let me spend mega bucks on the kids bedding so I got really ambitious and decided to make 2 quilts. (a friend at church helped me figure out how to put them together.) So without further ado...here is Makayla's quilt:

And Aiden's:

There room is painted in a light green color. And if you notice both quilts are tied together with John Deere fabric (the John Deere green looks great up next to the light green of the walls). And anyone that knows my kiddo's knows John Deere is the perfect way to go for them. (Not sure if there is such a thing as a John Deere princess but if not then Makayla could certainly be the first.) I have finished quilting both quilts but have yet to put the binding around the edges. (That's next week's lesson with my friend from church)
Between the quilts, the kids, and studying and preparing to teach Bible Study each week I've stayed pretty busy through the winter and I'm looking forward to a relaxing summer outside watching the kids play! If you're lucky maybe I'll get a picture of the new swing set on here before they grow out of it! :)

The Big Birthday Party!

2011-01-28T19:06:00.001-08:00

The big 2 year old girl in our home had her big 2 year old girl birthday party tonight! It was a great night!

We love you Makayla! You are definitely our little princess!
ps...the princess play high heels I got for Makayla didn't quite fit right. So she decided she needs different ones. How can I resist??? So tomorrow I'm taking her shopping for some heels to go with her new princess dress...Target here we come!

Birthday Girl!

2011-01-28T07:00:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet Makayla! She came out of her room this morning (after a 20 minute absence) and declared she was "All Pretty Now!" She then told me she needed to call Mamaw and tell her it was her birthday and she had presents. And also needed to tell her she had put all her hair bows on all by herself. Of course I could not resist but taking a picture of the birthday girl all prettied up on her birthday.

Stay tuned for pics of the big birthday bash tonight. Time for me to get busy....

Creating Monsters

2011-01-21T06:55:00.000-08:00

So prior to Aiden's birthday party we were trying to keep the house clean and picked up before all the guests arrived. So the result was 3 children on the couch all playing iPhones! Yep that's right...iPhones. The boys can play unassisted...Makayla still needs a little help or she may end up making unwanted purchases on Pawpaw's phone. Makayla will also at random state emphatically to just about anyone..."I want an iPhone." And because of her amazing capability at annunciating there is absolutely no mistaking what she is saying.
So I pose the question....are we creating monsters?

I dare say we are!

Aiden's 4th Birthday

2011-01-10T11:01:00.000-08:00

I never intended to just skip over Christmas in my blog posts but that is what has seemed to happen. One day I will get around to the Christmas pics, but not today because today is all about Aiden! My cute little boy turned 4 years old last Friday. Hard for me to believe he is already 4. After he turned 3 he immediately started looking forward to his 4th birthday. And now that he's 4 he is already talking about next year when he turns 5. My little guy just loves his birthday (I think he gets that from me) so I tried to make it as special for him as possible. The hard part was that its hard for a 4 year old to grasp that your birthday is on a Friday but your party is not til Saturday when everyone is off work. That was a tough one to explain. His big day arrived and we didn't have much planned because I was busy getting the house clean for the 30 people coming on Saturday. But with a quick and secret phone call to my mom we improvised. She met us in a little town about 15 minutes south of our farm at McDonald's and we had a "surprise" birthday lunch with mamaw! That was a big blessing. Aiden loved it. Mom brought balloons and cookies (complete with a lighter a #4 candle so we could even sing to him). And she gave him 3 of his birthday presents early. Thank you mom! Then I let him help me decorate his birthday cupcakes after his "quiet time" Friday. (Quiet time is now in place of nap time because he doesn't always need a nap. But everyday I get an hour to myself while he either sleeps or plays with a basket of toys on the guest bed) And when Kreg got home that evening we took Aiden out for ice cream. At the end of the day he told me he had 3 birthday parties and his big one was still to come! I was soo soo glad he felt that way. And his big birthday party on Saturday went great. He had his cousins there and lots of wonderful family. His big gift from us was a new bike but he's going to have to wait a bit before riding it with snow on the way.
So here are a few pics...
The improvised special McDonald's birthday lunch:

Cupcake making (or eating as Makayla thought):

And the Big Saturday Birthday Bash:

And this is what happens when I ask my hilarious brother to take some pictures at the party for me:

Cheap Entertainment

2010-12-14T10:51:00.000-08:00

There is nothing like good cheap entertainment. On Monday the kids each wanted to play in the toy bins. They kept wanting to sit in them so I put the bins up on the couch, stuck them each in a bin with their blankey's, turned Thomas the Train on, and got a few things done around the house. It kept them entertained long enough to get a few items crossed off my "to do" list and it was also picture worthy.

Another day I let them go play outside. It took a little longer to get ready than it does in the summer but definitely worth it to see Makayla waddle around in a big snow suit!

Where to begin....

2010-12-07T08:16:00.000-08:00

I'm overwhelmed...I don't know where to begin to fill you all in on our life. I've come to the conclusion that we have reached the point in life in which it is not going to slow down. People tell me there will be seasons where life slows down but I'm beginning to think not...not with little ones growing up quickly. This should be the slow time in life right....when I'm home all day...when the kids aren't in school yet so we shouldn't be too busy...Yeah Right...uh huh...I'll believe it when it happens.

So what have we been so busy with? Well since its the holidays there has been extra time with family and of course a fun Thanksgiving. There has been lots of extra shopping since Christmas is just around the corner and then both the kiddos have their birhtdays in January. Note to reader: I am by no means complaining about the shopping part here...just sayin thats all...If you know me then you know shopping is one of my specialties. We also remodeled our kitchen once harvest ended. It looks fabulous and I LOVE IT! I know have soooooo much more countertop space, new countertops, more cabinets/new cabinets!! And once again I must say thank you dad and Mark for helping make it all happen!
We are also very involved in our church. This year we started working with the senior high youthgroup. Its been a good thing but has definitely added to the busyness of life. I also teach a ladies Bible Study on Tuesdays. I have a love for deep Bible study and am so glad the Lord has given me this opportunity but let me tell ya....ITS TIME CONSUMING. Although I must say when you are willing to use your gift and willing to minister it does seem that God stretches my time and energy in ways I cannot explain. This year I'm leading a group of ladies through the book of Genesis...amazing study! And I am really blessed with a wonderful group of ladies that definitely put effort into their studying and come with very challenging questions. They keep me on my toes!
And then of course their's the kiddo's, housework, a husband who still works 10+hour days even though harvest is over, bills to pay, breakfast, lunch, and dinner to make everyday, a farm to discuss, a workout to fit in, and hopefully a shower to take,etc etc etc...To be honest I've been really struggling to fit bloggin into the schedule. Any of you regular bloggers have any suggestions??
So now that I've laid all my excuses out on the table for why I haven't blogged in like 10 years, I'll share a hodge podge of pictures:
The kids sitting at our new bar in the kitchen!

A few snapshots of our Thanksgiving down at my mom's house. the kids had a great time with their cousins.

A before and after of our newly remodeled kitchen. The red wall was made into a half wall back in July when we moved in. Then we waited til after harvest to do the rest. The kitchen is now open to the rest of the house.

And a few pics we took last night when the kids decided they wanted to "say cheese" before going to bed. Pretty sure they were just stalling but I didn't mind since they were willing to smile. You can see our lovely Christmas tree in the background.

Cowboys and Indians

2010-10-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

My little farmer turned cowboy on us a week ago. A while back Aiden took an interest in horses. He has a few plastic horses he plays with quite often. So one day I told him that his Aunt Becky has a horse and well that started the weekly asking..."Mommy, can we ride Aunt Becky's horse this week." Every week up until last week was "No, not this week but we'll ask Aunt Becky and go soon." Well last week we finally took Aiden for a ride on Aunt Becky's horse. First things first though he wanted to feed the horses a carrot. I'm not really sure where he got that idea from but no harm done...sounded like a good idea to me. He tried hard but only 1 of the horses was interested in his carrots.

When it was time for the big ride Aiden had been waiting so long for he got a bit timid on us and decided to sacrifice his sister instead..."Makayla goes first!" Makayla wasn't so sure about that until daddy got on.

Aiden finally got on though and once he did he LOVED IT! We couldn't get him off the horse. Aunt Becky's friend Dan was kind enough to ride with Aiden until he was comfortable and then walked the horse all over, while Aiden rode all by himself! I loved watching him go from a bit scared and timid to quite relaxed. We even put Makayla on the horse with Aiden towards the end while Kreg walked next to them. It was a fun little family outing. And my little cowboy is already asking when we are going to go do it again!

Morning cartoons

2010-09-23T11:15:00.000-07:00

I walked by this morning during Curious George and just had to take a picture...couldn't believe they were both snuggled up in the corner of the couch together.

Harvest!

2010-09-20T12:42:00.001-07:00

Well we sure are in the swing of things now. It may feel like summer outside still but to us its already fall. Harvest came early this year. Last year we weren't even started yet and this year we will hit the half way done mark this week! Its crazy how each year can be so different. The kids are absolutely LOVING it, especially Aiden, as always. He gets to ride in the combine, semi, or tractor almost daily and typically for hours on end! And if he's not out farming somewhere then he's here at home farming one of our rugs! I give you exhibit A:

I am not exaggerating at all when I say he will "play" harvest for hours on end. He cannot seem to get enough combining!

Makayla has definitely learned what a combine is and often repeats "I wanna ride combine. I wanna ride combine," when big brother gets to go ride and she has to stay with mommy. She got to ride once but she's too little to ride without Kreg or I so the rides are fewer. If there were such a thing as a "farm princess" then I think she'd be considered as such. I give you Exhibit B:

Today they are actually harvesting the field that Kreg and I own. We have been anticipating this for months now! This time of year is extremely exhausting for the guys (Kreg has been pulling 15 to 18 hour days the last few weeks) and its tiring for me to not have Kreg home much but it is also exciting and we love it. God is so good to give us a crop to harvest each year. I love that we are in a profession in which the LORD God Almighty is in charge of the whole thing!! Here are a few pics from our corn field:

Needless to say Aiden was not excited to have his picture taken. These days I'm pretty much happy if they will both just look at the camera!

And I know I still haven't posted a pic of our new home. Some day that will happen but today I give you the view from my front porch (in sepia...i thought it looked cool)

I love my view!!! This is also the view I have from my kitchen window. So so glad that God saw fit to move us closer to the farm!

Florida!

2010-08-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

Lately I cannot seem to keep up with this blog. Granted life has continued to be quite busy but somehow the weeks just keep slipping by. Last night I officially unpacked our last box! That was an exciting moment. I pretty much have the house set up and organized now, except for some remodeling to the kitchen we hope to have done this fall. And let me tell ya, that project makes me super excited!! (more on that in the months to come)
One reason for my long blogging absence is because we went on another vacation. And as you can tell from the title, we went to Florida! Kreg's parents took us and all his siblings and their families to St. George Island for a week. It was wonderful! We truly just relaxed. We all stayed together in a beautiful house right on the beach. And not only were we on the beach, but we had our own private pool as well! I could have stayed there for much longer than a week, that's for sure.
Take a peek at the house:

Aiden and Makayla both loved the beach. Aiden improved quite a bit on his swimming while we were there. And Makayla loved the waves! She is a true beach babe. It was quite windy for several of the days so one day the waves were probably at least 4 feet tall, but that didn't phase her. I got in the ocean but not for long. I love the beach but I am not the biggest ocean person (not a big surprise to some of you).
I could tell you more but I think pictures say a thousand words so maybe I shall just inundate you with pictures. I realized after looking through all the pics that I didn't have too many of Aiden. And then I realized why. He was off playing with his cousins for most of the week! Hard to believe my son is old enough to just go off and play with his cousins. Anyway, I present to you our Florida trip:

And that was Florida! Well atleast some of it. We had a wonderful time and are so thankful to Kreg's parents for letting all of us spend the week together. What a blessing it is that we both have such wonderful Christian families!

Home Sweet Home

2010-08-06T12:11:00.000-07:00

What a busy summer it has been! I can hardly believe its August already. Moving really made the weeks go by fast. But we are in our new home and loving it. And last night my father-in-law and my husband got our Internet going so I feel reconnected with the world once again! (awww what a great feeling) We've been in our house since the first of July and are feeling fairly settled now. Kreg's "honey-do" list is getting shorter with each week. I've already painted 3 rooms and just have the kids room and a bathroom to go. This may sound weird but the house is starting to smell like us now too. When we moved in it just smelled like other people. I would walk in the door and it didn't "smell" like home. Now I walk in the door and I don't notice anything so it must smell like us now! haha.
We moved in on a Friday night and by mid-morning Saturday I had my dad put to work on a little remodeling project. Our house is very open concept but it wasn't that way to begin with. There was this very odd wall that separated the kitchen from everything else but the wall was serving absolutely no purpose (it wasn't even touching the ceiling). So we took it down! And we LOVE IT now. Here is a before and after pic:
Before

After!

So I was thinking the other day how life has changed this summer:
-I now use the words "goin into town" when I need to run errands or get groceries.
-I go by corn fields, bean fields, grain bins, and hog barns when I'm jogging.
-I have a great view of the grain bins from my kitchen window (no longer is my view the side of the neighbor's house)
-Kreg can just pop in to say hi now when driving between barns. Love that part!
-We live just around the corner from my in-laws who have a pool so we've been doing lots of swimming.
-The kids have a huge yard to run around in now and I don't really have to worry about cars driving by while they're playing.
-Aiden and Makayla's future school is also just around the corner. I'm hoping to get Aiden signed up for preschool there next year.
-The kids also share a room now. Its going really well too. The only down side is they tend to wake up a little earlier than they use to and stay up a bit later talking (although sometimes thats really cute to listen to).

Those are just a few things I love about our new location. I think we are really going to enjoy living here.
And because I can't resist here is a recent pics of the kiddos:

They were dressed in my shirts.

We also took a big trip to Washington State to visit my extended family a few weeks ago. I'll post some pics from our trip soon.

Almost!

2010-06-30T11:53:00.001-07:00

Two more days and we should be home owners once again. We are still living with Kreg's parents and its been going really well but we are really really excited to get our hands on our new home. As long as all goes as planned we should be moving in this weekend!

In the meantime I had a wonderful birthday. I got my hair chopped off!! Aiden is swimming a little without his floaties. Makayla's vocab has continued to explode. And wheat harvest has begun.

So here's a pic of the new hair:

And a few pics we took last night by one of the wheat fields:

Hopefully the next time I post I'll be typing from my new home!

Crazy!

2010-06-15T12:54:00.000-07:00

Well in just 48 hours we will be moving out of our current home and moving in with my in-laws! That's right. We sold our home just 10 days ago but part of the deal was that we had to close by June 16th! Its been a busy 10 days let me tell ya. We have a home we are buying but haven't been able to move that paper work along quick enough to be able to move right in. So we're just makin it work. We feel very blessed that God allowed us to sell our home so quickly and are so so excited to live next to the farm. Its going to make my life so much easier (on many different levels)!! And Kreg will be able to stop by home now throughout the day or even come home to just grab a snack! hip hip hooray!!

Makayla has absolutely no idea whats going on or why there seems to be nothing left in her room but she's been goin with the flow. Aiden understands that we're moving but he thinks we are going to have 2 homes. (Nope don't think so bud.) But he is very excited because he is going to live closer to the piggies! Living next to the farm is going to allow Kreg to swing by and pick Aiden up more often to go work with him. Aiden is going to LOVE that part. Right now we live just far enough away that its a very big inconvenience for Kreg to come home. And after 2 1/2 years of driving back and forth we're so glad we don't have to anymore!

The next time I write I will hopefully be able to say I am officially a country girl! :) (never thought I'd be so excited to type that sentence...haha) The good thing is both my in-laws and my parents are wonderful to be around and they both have pools!! So the kids and I are going to be doing a lot of swimming while we're between homes!! Maybe I'll even get tan! (that hasn't happened in a long time)

So I may be absent from the blog for a couple weeks while we're in the process of moving. Continued prayers that all the details will work out as planned would be much appreciated!!

Where Have We Been

2010-05-29T07:58:00.001-07:00

Well the past month has definitely been a busy one. Planting season started this year on April 13th and all the crops were in by May 10th!! I believe it was a record year, as far as how early the crops all got in the ground. We had some crazy 80 degree weather the beginning to middle of April and that really helped us get off to a good start. And with a couple good weeks of rain the crops are growing and Kreg is already out spraying the first rounds. So between April 13th and May 10th I was busy getting lunch and dinner to my husband in the fields 6 days a week.

We have also put our house up for sale so the past weeks have been full of cleaning, organizing, sorting, pitching, and cleaning some more! This past week I cleaned for 3 showings! And let me tell ya with a 3 1/2 year old and a 16 month old that took a lot of time and energy! We shall soon see if anything will come of all my hard work. We don't HAVE to move but we would like to live closer to the farm. Life would be much easier on me!

Makayla has been getting her 1 year molars so thats been quite fun as well. The 2nd one is almost through....sheeweee...and let me tell ya I will be very glad when this stage of teething is done! Teething is really hard on her. When Aiden was teething I hardly knew it but with her its been so much different.

On May 8th I ran the Indianapolis half-marathon! For all that nice weather we had in April it sure wasn't nice that day...freezing cold and windy but I felt great and can't wait to do it again next year!! My mom and dad came downtown to watch me finish the race and brought the kids so they could see mommy. See Exhibit A, I was just about to cross the finish line!
Exhibit A

The kids and I have been spending a lot of time outside too, since it has suddenly turned summer with temps of almost 90 degrees! Aiden figured out how to ride his bike (with training wheels of course) so we've been making lots of rounds through the neighborhood. I'm really proud of him. See Exhibit B
Exhibit B

We've also been trying to stay cool in whatever water we can find. Be it the baby pool in the front yard (Exhibits c & d) or Mamaw's pool down in Indy (Exhibits e & f)
Exhibit c

Exhibit d

Exhibit e

Exhibit f

On top of all that I've been trying to make Makayla's baby book scrapbook. Its coming along nicely but taking up most of my "free time." (thus my lack of blogging)
And just for kicks I will end this post with Exhibits G & H. These are pics of Aiden after a long fun day at Gran and Poppie's house with so much to do (like clean their pool, play outside, help Poppie on the fork lift, help Gran make dinner, etc...) that there was no time for a nap. Aiden told me this week and I quote, "Mommy, I'm a great help." Right you are Mr. Aiden! Thus I give you Exhibit G & H: Aiden asleep on the family room floor at 7:30pm. Makayla was evening hitting him on the head. We could not get him to wake up. I think when I snapped the 2nd pic he was even snoring.
Exhibit G

Exhibit H

And I think thats pretty much what we've been up to.

15 months!

2010-05-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

Sweet baby girl is now 15 months old and sooooooooo BIG (yet so little). Miss thing loves her baby dolls, loves bugging her brother, and really loves playing outside. And as you can tell from the pics below this girl LOVES her sippy cup. She is almost never without milk. Its her favorite word and already at only 15 months she says "I want milk" quite clearly. I don't know if its because she is a girl or the 2nd child but she is talking so much quicker than Mr. A ever did. And she seems to understand most things that I say and responds with either "yah" "no" or "ok." It's hilarious! She is such a sweetie.

This is Makayla "cheesin it" for the camera. hmmmmmm...we may have to work on this one.

Priceless

2010-04-13T11:07:00.001-07:00

Big brother + little sister snugglin on the couch = priceless

Easter

2010-04-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

A few Easter pics...
Squeeze!

Once again we attempt the family portrait but the 3 year old refuses to smile this time.

Easter egg hunt in our backyard. Note Makayla in the uppper right corner. She had no idea what was going on but it didn't take her too long to figure out the eggs had candy in them.

Beautiful!

What's this mommy??

A few more....

2010-04-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

A few more Florida pics I just had to post. My sister-in-law sent me some that I just can't resist sharing. So here ya have it...
The girls playing in their jammies...(I just love Makayla's hair here)

Open up baby bird...

Gotta love cousins!

And a little family cuddle time...

Florida!!

2010-03-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

My lack of posting is because we spent a week in Florida!! We left last Friday at 9pm for the 19 hour drive to Cape Coral (near Ft. Myers). Yes we're a little crazy but we thought our kids would sleep and it was the economical decision/the thing you do when you are saving to build a house and put kids through college. We thought Makayla would sleep fine if we drove through the night but wondered about Aiden...HOWEVER...it was the exact opposite. Aiden amazed us! He slept great and Makayla was up most of the night! A 19 hour drive with a 14 month old is not something I am anxious to do again anytime soon (especially when she maybe slept a total of 4 hours and she typically sleeps at least 12 hours in a night). She didn't want to play with toys, she didn't want to sleep, she didn't want to watch movies...she just wanted OUT OF THAT CAR SEAT! The poor little thing. But she made it and we had a great trip. We met my family down there and we all stayed together in a beautiful house with a great view, a pool, and a hot tub! We don't get to see my oldest brother and his wife very much so to spend the week with them was a real blessing. And my kids just loved their Uncle Aaron and Aunt Tamara. Who wouldn't...they're just a lot of fun.
Here is Uncle Aaron and Aunt Tam with Aiden, Makayla, and my niece and nephew.

One of the previous renters of the home left a huge Shamoo floaty and I gotta tell ya, I'm not sure what the trip would have been like without Shamoo. He made many appearances. The big thing was trying to get a ride from Shamoo. I love this picture of Kreg.

And of course Aiden needed a ride.

The little girls weren't quite sure about the big pool (at least Makayla wasn't) so we bought them a little kiddie pool. And I may be biased but I think they look scrumptiously cute! You can't tell very well but the boys were enjoying the kiddie pool as well.

This picture is my favorite pic of Makayla the entire trip! Such a Florida girl!

This is my favorite of Aiden. He loved the beach.

Makayla was a big fan of the beach as well. She liked dipping her pretzels in the sand and then eating them. Yuck! And every time the waves would hit her she would yell ferociously at the water!

Family pick at the beach on Sanibel Island. The shells at Sanibel were awesome. There were just piles and piles of really cool ones.

A little family time in the hot tub.

This was the scene during naptime one day. Hilarious!

We had a great trip! I loved every minute of it, except the drive too and from was just a bit too far for our princess. I've decided to enjoy a road trip you must be atleast 3 and up. Aiden is ready to go back already!

Hey mom...look at us!

2010-03-16T10:28:00.001-07:00

So I'm cleaning up the dishes after lunch today and I look over to see what the kids are up to and this is what I see...

hilarious!!

Both my kiddos seem to have quite the funny bone today. Earlier this morning Aiden asked me if he could play corn. We literally have dried corn that we let him "combine" and put in his grain bin. But most of the time the corn ends up all over the place and today I did not feel like cleaning it up or for that matter keeping it out of Makayla's mouth! So my answer was no, not right now. And being the ever so obedient boy that he is, he did not argue with me. Instead he looked around (with his little combine in hand), perused the place, and his sites fell on his sister. Suddenly I hear "come here baby corn, come here." Poor Makayla. She was in for it. He decided if I wouldn't get his corn down for him then he was going to combine his sister! Poor little thing.

Bring it on!

2010-03-11T11:14:00.000-08:00

Bring on the nice weather! The kids and I have been loving it this week! I was taking them outside last week when we made it all the way up to 40 so this week when we hit almost 70 yesterday I was about to grab their swimsuits and hit the pool! Ok well maybe its not quite pool time but we have been spending all the time we can outside. The snow is gone, the birds are chirping, and the word thunderstorms have been mentioned on the weather forecast. I love it!

And Miss Makayla has been loving it as well. As soon as we hit 40 degrees we also had to hit Target for some new kicks so Missy Makayla could walk around outside in more than just soft shoes. It took a few days of adjusting but no troubles now. And she LOVES being outside...just like her big brother. Makayla got to go for her first walk down to the stop sign at the end of our street (a usual summer activity when we are waiting/looking for daddy to come home). And she got to test out the sandbox for the first time....an Aiden favorite. The double jogging stroller also got pulled down from the garage ceiling this week. We've made a few rounds, but somehow it seems a little heavy to push than it did last fall...hmmmmmm....

Disclaimer: I want the record to show, I am not playing favorites here by just having pictures of Makayla all the time. Aiden is at that age when he does not like having his picture taken and only wants it taken at certain times. I tried to snap a few while we were out playing but it was a no go so I don't push it. However, he was in the mood to have has picture taken the other night when he was looking quite cute in daddy's Taylor U. hat.

Katyruth!

2010-03-01T13:13:00.000-08:00

Friday night we headed a bit south for the evening to meet our new neice Katyruth Elaine! And oh was she cute! And such a tiny little thing...yet already 2 weeks old! It made me realize how big Makayla is now (no longer my little baby girl).

Kreg's parents can now brag about all 5 of their grandchildren! Sheweeee what a crew!

And Miss Makayla got some snuggles from her Uncle Kent who also came down for the occasion.

Just because I can...

2010-02-24T17:36:00.001-08:00

I gave Makayla her first pigtails today!

You can't tell from the picture but she's in the middle of some sweet dance moves. We're gonna have to watch this girl...she likes to break it down whether it be a cell phone ring tone, a baby einstein, klove, or the ABC song.

Question

2010-02-22T07:14:00.001-08:00

I'm not sure they make video's like they use to. A good friend dropped by some VHS Bible movies for the kids this morning. They were mezmorized!

They were watching "The Donut Man" for those of you who may know of it. It's got great Bible songs, stories, etc, just a bit dated (but they didn't care).

So here's my question I want to buy some good DVD's or CD's for us to listen to in the car that are Bible stories or songs that help the kids memorize scripture verses. But I have no idea what to buy...any suggestions??

Snow!

2010-02-06T13:25:00.001-08:00

I can think of no words to describe the following pictures...captions would just not be enough...

Project Light Fixtures

2010-02-05T10:48:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Kreg started a project we got inspired to do while watching HGTV on vacation a few weeks ago. We very much (I'm not aloud to use the word "hate" so I won't say "hate" but I think you get the idea)DISLIKE our brass and white light fixtures. They came with the house and up until a few weeks ago I didn't think I would get to have anything different. I just resolved to dislike my light fixtures because lets face it, its not REALLY that important in the grand scheme of things. But to my absolute joy and delight I was not the only one inspired by HGTV! Kreg was all for spray painting our light fixtures. YIPPPPEEEEEE! To hear him say we could give it a try was music to my ears. So far we have one ceiling fan done and it looks FANTASTIC! I have to say it again...FANTASTIC! Tonight he will be finishing up a couple more of our lights and I CAN HARDLY WAIT to see how they look hanging in my lovely home. Can you tell I'm just a little bit excited?

So here are some before picture:

And here is an after picture:

The picture may not do it justice. But I don't think you would ever know we painted it. To me it looks brand new!

Now if I could just get him into a carpet store... :)

Finally....pics of Makayla's Birthday Party

2010-02-03T12:00:00.001-08:00

Yes, I'm finally getting around to posting the pics of Makayla's birthday party. Life has been a little busy lately. I've started teaching a Bible Study at my church so I've spent a lot of hours preparing for that. And of course to coincide with the beginning of my Bible Study the kids came down with colds. Poor Makayla didn't stop there however....she also decide to get two new teeth and have a UTI (urinary tract infection). Oh yes we've been having lots of fun! Sunday night when we got home from church her fever was almost 104. I had a hard time getting it under control all that night and by Monday morning she looked terrible. She was shaking (I think it was cold chills) and whimpering. At one point she got unresponsive and her eyes were only half open. That's when I flipped out! I threw the kids in the car and met Kreg at the doctor's office. The pediatrician's office is in the hospital so I knew if need be then we were going to be in good hands. After Makayla was put through chest x-rays to rule out pneumonia and catheterized for a urine sample we were able to go home (about 4 hours later). She still hasn't been sleeping very well at night (up for 2 1/2 hours last night) but she is acting and feeling much better and I'm very thankful for that.
Poor baby girl has had a pretty rough start to her second year of life. Anyway, without further ado I present to you the birthday party:
The Cake

My Beautiful Table

Yuuummmmmyyyyy!

Makayla's new Melissa & Doug shopping cart...she loves shopping around the house. And notice she even has her baby and purse in tow.

The evening of Makayla's birthday we let her go at a strawberry cupcake, after having a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. It was a messy night let me tell ya!

We gave Makayla a musical chair. This girl LOVES music.

Baby Girl's Birthday!

2010-01-28T17:59:00.000-08:00

My sweet baby girl turned one today! And she took her first steps tonight. I will post pictures of her party soon. Until then I leave you with the face of my 1 year old precious girl...

4 years & counting...

2010-01-21T10:48:00.000-08:00

Four years ago today...I married the man of my dreams!

Soooooooooo glad we didn't have the ice storm we're having today!

Vacation Vacation!

2010-01-17T11:00:00.000-08:00

We're back! Yep last week Kreg and I flew the coup and went to West Palm Beach, Florida for the week. WITH NO KIDS! Yes you read that correctly. We left the little ones with the grandparents and took some time for ourselves. And oh my my my was it wonderful! I feel like a new woman, ready to take on motherhood full force again.

Of course the week that we go to Florida they hit record LOWS! Yikes! Monday morning we woke up to 33 degrees. That's not supposed to happen in Florida weather. But hey that's ok because I got to do whatever I wanted for a whole week. The weather wasn't going to get me down any. And by the end of the week we were enjoying weather in the mid 70s so all turned out ok in the weather department. So what did I choose to do during my week of relaxation? I'm going to tell you...

-We slept in and set NO alarms....and no little people awakened me. I slept with no monitor next to my head!
-We drank lots of coffee in the morning and had hours of devotional time (with no interruptions)
-We went jogging and I tested out my new Garmin GPS watch. I loved it! It told us our distance, pace, heartbeat, and other fun tidbits I so enjoyed having at my disposal while running.
-We played tennis. I was a bit rusty to begin with.
-We went shopping (pushing no stroller)! Although the only thing I bought all week was a West Palm Christmas tree ornament.
-We picked up shells on the beach and layed out with a cabana blocking the wind for us.
-I read an entire fiction book!
-I cooked meals (just a few) with no little people clinging to my legs.
-On that note, we ate out! And I had no one to feed but myself. Wow I had totally forgotten what that was like.
-And I watched lots of HGTV. And I loved it! We don't have cable and I'm glad we don't because if we did I would have the TV on way too much. So when we go on vacation it can be a fun treat. And I never realized how fun HGTV was! I'm totally ready now to make over our whole house! I'm thinking I'll start small...maybe with the light fixtures :)

After an extremely long harvest this vacation was very refreshing. And getting to spend some exclusive time with my husband was a blessing. We spend so much time and energy on the kids when we are in our weekly routine that we often forget we need to spend time just the two of us. A couple months ago someone said to us "A healthy family is not a family that spends all their time together, but a family in which the mom and dad have consistent time together." I think that is so true. We love our kiddos soooo much and we feel so blessed God has entrusted them in our care but my first priority is to my husband. And it is so easy to forget that, especially when the kiddos are as small as they are.

So we didn't take too many pics but we took a few...
The beach...our resort was right on the beach.

In the background you can see our resort. You can also see the cabana's that made 70 degrees feel like 80 degrees.

We had an absolutely fantastic week. And it was the perfect amount of time because I was ready to be home yesterday...ready to hold my babies again. A BIG thank you to Mamaw and Papa, and Gran and Poppie for keeping the kids for us!!!

Happy Happy Happy Birthday Aiden!

2010-01-07T11:11:00.000-08:00

Today is officially the Aiden man's birthday. It feels like it has been his birthday for a while now but I think thats because he's been asking if it was his birthday since about October. And because his birthday falls close to Christmas I try to separate the two events and make his birthday a really big deal. I'm not sure he even realizes today is actually his birthday. He had so much fun Saturday at his party that I don't think he cares. His birthday wish was to play in the 7 inches of snow we got today and when Kreg came home for lunch that wish came true. He even got to play in the backyard "all by himself."

Happy 3rd Birthday Aiden!

Aiden's 3rd Birthday Party!

2010-01-02T12:37:00.001-08:00

The Cake:

Yes I made the cake! Well me and my friend Natosha (I must admit, I couldn't have done it without her). I was so so happy with how it turned out!

The Decorations:

The Birthday Boy:

The PARTY!:

A birthday lunch of chili, veggies, dip, and chips. A great lunch when its only 10 degrees outside on your birthday. Even Makayla got in on the chili lunch.

Aiden has been asking to blow out his birthday candles since I think October. The time finally arrived!

The Presents: (All kinds of cool things!)

What in the world could be in the big one!!!

A basketball goal!!! (Aiden's gift from mommy and daddy)

However I think the box the goal came in was a bigger hit at the time.

And when it was all said and done: A tired daddy and uncle Mark.

Aren't they cute! :)

And just for kicks:
Aiden loved his Thomas balloon sooooo much daddy had to guard it while Aiden play with some of his new toys (while daddy continued his nap).

I think the day was a success. Aiden wanted a cake, some friends, and some presents and he got all three.
One birthday party down and one to go!

Photo Session

2009-12-31T11:07:00.001-08:00

While waiting for Kreg to come home for lunch today the kids and I had a little photo session. I think we actually took some pretty good pictures today.
My Crazy Girl:

My Silly Boy...with crazy girl in the background. In this pic Makayla was actually saying "cheese." She just started saying it today. She says "eeeeeee."

Me with the crazy girl and silly boy.

And one of the 3 of us together! I can hardly believe they are both smiling, let alone that they both cooperated at the same time. (That never happens.) If you look closely it looks like Makayla has both of her top teeth but actually the one on the left is just sooooo swollen that it actually looks like a tooth. Its almost through people....almost through!

Christmas Highlights

2009-12-29T11:07:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful Christmas we have had. Woweee it has been filled with so much fun. And we made it last as long as possible too. It all started Wednesday evening with our little family Christmas here at home. I made homemade cinnamon rolls and we had Christmas breakfast for dinner!
Then we let the kids open their gifts from Kreg and I. Aiden got a John Deere big wooden barn he can drive his tractors in and out of. Makayla got a little people doll house, a new baby doll, and a little bottle so she can feed her baby. Amazingly she knew just what to do with that doll and bottle.

We only had a few presents but we totally destroyed the place by the time we were finished opening.
The before:

The after:

Kreg got me a very cool gift that I was not expecting at all. He got a watch that has GPS in it so I can track my courses when I got running. Its so cool. It will record my distance, pace, heart rate, location, etc...then I can put all the info on a program on the computer and keep track of my different runs. I can actually race against myself and see if I'm beating myself from the last time I ran. I can also set goals for things like pace or distance and it will tell me if I'm under or exceeding my goals. Its the coolest little thing! If it wasn't so snowy and Icy outside I would have already tried it out. There will be more to come on my Garmin Forerunner in a later post I'm sure.
Then Christmas Eve we went down to Indy to spend time with my family. We had dinner at my brother's house and had a birthday cake for Jesus.
Here are Aiden and my nephew Luke blowing out their candles for Jesus:

And here's my parents with their four grandchildren!

Christmas day was spent at my parents house. It was a wonderfully relaxing day. My parents got Aiden and Makayla a kitchen. They both seem to love it. Aiden has been making me lots of pizza's.

Saturday morning then we headed back up north to spend the day with Kreg's family. They were kind enough to wait to have Christmas until we could all be together. We had a great time at the Salsbery's as well, although I have no pictures. Silly me. One of the highlights of my day Saturday was giving my sister-in-law, Jessica, the quilt I made her for Christmas. That's right folks you heard correctly. I made a quilt! I had so much fun doing it too, although next time I think I will allow myself a bit more time than 3 1/2 weeks (between Thanksgiving and Christmas just about every waking hour was spent making this quilt). But thats ok because it was all worth it and this winter I even plan to make another one.

So without further ado here's the quilt:

So for the past several days we've been having great fun playing with our new Christmas toys, as Aiden likes to say it. One of MY "Christmas toys" is an electric pressure cooker. I tried it out for the first time today. I cooked a whole chicken for lunch in 28 mins. Amazing! And tonight I'm taking it a step further. I'm going to try making beef stew in the pressure cooker. I'm really excited about my new kitchen toy. I have heard it will "revolutionize my cooking." :) Bring it on baby!

So there ya go, some of the highlights of our Christmas. Such a blessed week of fun. And there is still more fun to be had as this Saturday is Aiden's 3rd birthday party!! Don't worry I will do my best to take lots of pictures.

I know I know....

2009-12-07T18:04:00.000-08:00

I know I know...I haven't updated in a while. Well I have an excuse and its called HARVEST. It STILL isn't finished yet! Hard to believe we started this journey back in September and its December 7th with an inch of snow on the ground and they are still in the fields. Its been the craziest year. My wonderful husband has done the best he can to help me out when he's home. I know he's tired and yet when we do get to see him he lovingly plays and wrestles with the kids without complaint. We had a long month of sicknesses/teething as well and he even did his share of holding and comforting the kids in the middle of the night. We're on the home stretch now but its STILL not over yet. I am very much ready to no longer feel like a single parent Monday-Saturday. And I am very much ready to have weekends again. During harvest there is no weekend off. Oh to have my husband home for a Friday night again or a Saturday morning for pancakes and coffee. Its coming...I know it is.

So with that being said most of my days have been spent running around like a chicken with my head cutoff. I pick up the house...and Aiden and Makayla destroy it. I feed them and clean the kitchen up and do it again and again(2 bites for each of them and 1 bite for me...its a good diet plan I tell ya.). I play tractors and choo choo's while holding a squirmy girl on my lap. And then I play tractors and choo choo's more while Makayla destroys/eats the tractors and choo choo's. I tell Aiden to be gentle with his sister about 50 times a day and try to be consistent disciplining my almost 3 year old. And we run errands, go to church activities, and hang out with friends and family. I'm not complaining, I'm just tired. I'm really really tired and ready to enjoy the Christmas season with Kreg at home with me in the evening again. Don't get me wrong, I love my life and I love my kids. They are literally my world right now. I thank the Lord for them every day. I know I am tremendously blessed. Its just been a long few months with some emotional ups and downs and I am just ready to have my husband home to help me once again. I cherish the thought of being able to tell Aiden "It's almost 5pm daddy will be home soon" instead of having to tell him "No daddy won't be home for dinner again tonight because he's working." Oh its coming! The day is coming! I can almost taste it.

Last week was a nice change of pace because I had my best friend since Kindergarten up to visit on Tuesday with her very adorable son Rigg. And then my mom came up and took my kids down to Indy Wednesday and Thursday. That was lovely! I had two whole days of blissful silence, shopping, and uninterrupted projects here at home. Thanks again mom!
And it is at this point that I also most give a shout out to my wonderful mother-in-law who joyfully takes my children every Monday for at least a few hours while I get a jump start on my week. Without her I'm not sure I would have made it through the last 3 months. Being able to at least grocery shop by myself and get some cleaning done around the house does wonders for the rest of my week.

So I leave you now with a few pics from Cari and Rigg's visit to Kokomo:
(I'm so glad you brought your camera Cari)
I just love this picture of Cari with Makayla...both so beautiful!

Aiden's attempt at giving Makayla a kiss and Cari's attempt at trying to catch it on camera.

My cute boy...

My pretty little girl...

And last but certaily not least Makayla trying to make Rigg eat a bus (Sorry Rigg...)

Thanks for coming up Cari! And thanks for helping me keep my sanity mom!

The Remedy

2009-11-17T04:57:00.000-08:00

This past Friday Makayla came down with croup. Its not been fun to say the least but we're making it and I think we are now through the worst. It was a long weekend with a bit of a scary day on Sunday. She was completely listless, just wanting to sleep on us and laying around on her blankey and by evening she was running a 102 fever. Every time she would cough she would try to cry because it would hurt but she had no voice so she wasn't able to cry either. The tears would come but no noise. It was a very strange thing to have a baby with no voice. That's how she communicates to me...in her crib, if she gets hurt, if she's hungry, if Aiden takes her toy, etc...she gives a little cry. But the past couple days I have just physically had to watch her to make sure she was ok and not just sitting with tears streaming down her face, which did happen on Sunday. This morning however I am happy to report we are starting to hear cute little squeaks again out of my princess, even though the nasty cough is still there. The cute little squeaks are a welcome sound once again.

So with that being said little did I know Aiden has known the cure all along. I should have just asked him sooner. Last night at dinner this is the conversation I had with him.

Me: Aiden we have to be extra gentle with baby because she doesn't feel good. Her throat hurts, especially when she coughs.

Aiden: Baby needs a band aid?

Me: Yeah baby could probably use a band aid? But I don't think we can put one on her throat.

Aiden: (He ponders this for a moment) Baby need a doctor?

Me: Yes baby needed the doctor. But we already took her to the doctor so I don't think we should take her again.

Aiden: Oh ok. (He pauses once again to think and then his eyes light up and he proudly states) Baby need 3 minutes with daddy?

Me: (smile) Oh yes Aiden. That's definitely what she needs. 3 minutes with daddy would make anyone feel better.

So there it is. The remedy. Little did I know my almost 3 year old would have the answer. 3 minutes with daddy....of course! :)

Miss Lady Bug

2009-11-10T11:26:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was family fun filled! We had absolutely beautiful weather (as most of you know) so everyone decided it would be a great weekend for a combine ride. And I do concur...it truly was a fantastic weekend for combining.

Side note: We are still smack dab in the middle of harvest. Last year we were done at this time but this year we still have a ways to go. Thankfully all the beans are in but there is still A LOT of corn out there. So I am doing the best I can to hold the fort down here at home with my two silly munchkins. But I have to be honest with ya...I CAN HARDLY WAIT to have Kreg home again every evening. I'm starting to wear out just a bit. We'll get there I know we will.

Anyway, so Saturday my brother and sister-in-law came up for the day with my niece and nephew. I left for a few minutes Saturday evening to go grab us a pizza and when I came home I heard a story that I shall not soon forget. First of all I must tell you that if you do not know my sister-in-law then you are truly missing out. She's hilarious and fun and well let's face it, absolutely terrified of bugs. (keep this in mind for the rest of the story)

So while I was gone Mindy noticed Makayla was chewing on something (gumming it to death is probably a better description). So she did the mom/aunt thing and stuck her finger in Makayla's mouth and pulled out a macaroni noodle. Now you may think that strange but its really not. When Makayla is napping I allow Aiden to combine macaroni noodles. The kid spends every waking hour of his day pretending to drive trucks and tractors so I like to give him a little something to pretend with. I thought I had all of them picked up but i guess not. Well a few minutes later Mindy noticed that Makayla was still chewing on something. So once again she did the mom/aunt thing and swept her finger through Makayla's mouth only this time she PULLED OUT

(wait for it....yes its true......)

A LADY BUG!
Yuck! Makayla had been gumming a full fledged lady bug! Whether it was alive or dead we shall never know because it was definitely dead when it CAME OUT OF HER MOUTH! Now for those of you who know Mindy please feel free to envision her FREAKING OUT just a little bit at that moment.

(Makayla, mommy says no chewing on lady bugs ok!)

A few minutes later Mindy noticed Makayla was still chewing, very bravely she stuck her finger in one more time and pulled out, yes you guessed it, the other half of the lady bug shell. Yuck!

Makayla no more eating lady bugs! If you're hungry just tell mommy. Ok darling.

My mother-in-law nicknamed Makayla "lady bug" a few weeks ago so I guess that makes the old saying true....You are what you eat!

No more lady bugs Miss Lady Bug!
In the words of Aiden, "Baby that's a No No" :)

Fall Fabulous!

2009-11-05T10:41:00.000-08:00

So I don't like Halloween. I don't like what it celebrates at all but I do enjoy dressing my children up in fun costumes. aka...the farmer and the penguin

And I do enjoy the fall weather and the colorful trees and the smell of harvest. I love fresh apples from the orchard and a pumpkin on my front porch. So with that being said, this year we found a very happy medium to all this. Friday the 30th we had a pizza party with Kreg's extended family and had a blast dressing the kids up in there costumes. (I like to think of it as a mid-harvest/fall party.) Thus I present to you the rooster, the farmer, the fairy, the ninja, a ladybug, and a penguin.

And I just have to share this next picture because well I think its hilarious. The ladybug and the punguin are looking at each other like "Can you believe our parents would dress us up like this and have the nerve to take our picture."

Oh what cute little butter balls!! :)
So, then on halloween the kids and I attended our "trunk or treat" at church. I had fun showing my little munchkins off and Aiden had fun getting lots of candy. (no pictures of this however because it was FREEZING outside so we made our rounds and headed home.)
However, the greatest part of the whole weekend was when we got home from "trunk or treat" it was still early so we still had lots of tricker treaters arriving at our door. At first I thought "Oh man Aiden's going to be scared of the rediculous costumes. And do we really want to start this with our kids?" But then we realized we could choose to put a different spin on things and maybe make this a very positive experience. And indeed we did. Aiden loved handing out candy to all the kids that rang our doorbell. He pretty much gave away all of his own candy. (lesson #1 for Aiden: giving is better than receiving) And along with the candy we had Aiden give out tracks to all the kids that came to the door. The tracks were million dollar bills that look fairly real and fully explain the gospel on both the front and the back. I have to tell you it was so so so cool to watch my almost 3 year old boldy stand at the door and put a gospel track in every single bucket or bag that came to our door. What a great way to take a terribly pagan holiday and teach our children that yes we can still have fun, yes we can still get dressed up, yes we can eat candy, no we don't have to be scared of the costumes because the costumes aren't real, and yes we will face halloween straight in the face and share the gospel. And how cool will it be if our kids grow up handing out tracks on halloween. Our hope too is if Aiden can boldly share the gospel when he's 3 then hopefully he will be able to boldly share the gospel when he's 18 or 25! (lesson #2 for Aiden: Sharing the gospel does not have to be a scary thing.)
So there it is my thoughts on this years October 31st. Now please don't get me wrong, I most definitely respect differing convictions for this holiday. To be honest I wasn't sure what my convictions were until recently. I have gone back and forth with what we should do. But for right now I am happy with how we spent our evening on October 31st. I got to take cute pictures of my kiddos and share the gospel with those that stepped onto our front porch.

The Last Nice Day of the Season

2009-10-23T11:41:00.000-07:00

I do believe Wednesday just may have been the last really nice day of the year. We hit the 70 mark and it was beautiful outside. All the trees right now are so full of color. So the kids and I tried to take advantage of it and after their naps we spent a good portion of the afternoon outside. And Makayla being the big girl that she is now got to play in the grass, sit in the sandbox for the first time, and sit in the swing! She really really loved the swing. The sandbox was interesting. She kept trying to eat the sand even though every time she would put sand in her mouth she would make a terrible face and try to spit it back out. I have no pictures of the sandbox but I do have a great one of her in the swing.

I also tried to get a few pics of Aiden and Makayla in front of this beautiful red bush in our front yard. But to actually get them to both smile in the same picture or even just to both look at the camera at the same time would be too much to ask for. I would even settle for the two of them just sitting nice and STILL next to each other. That would have been fine with me too. But no, I don't think any of the above happened.

Standing!

2009-10-22T07:52:00.001-07:00

Look at me! I can stand up in my crib now!

Oh wow, my brother is really big. Whats he doing in here anyway mom?

Accessorizing

2009-10-16T11:30:00.001-07:00

I've been having a little too much fun accessorizing Miss Makayla as of late. Just thought I would share...

And here's a good one of my little man too. I don't want to leave him out!

Bath Time!

2009-10-14T17:30:00.000-07:00

Rub a dub dub...time for the tub!

Oh what cuties!

A Serious Bargain!

2009-10-07T17:56:00.000-07:00

My mother-in-law is an amazing bargain shopper. She knows how to find the deals. Either that or the deals know how to find her! So today she called and said she found some baby food on sale for $.10 a piece! I said SWEET, how many can you get? So she bought all they had and brought me this wonderful present of baby food this afternoon. I couldn't believe it. Take a look at this picture.

All this for only $1.10!!! That is what you call a bargain!!

In other news baby girl is crawling everywhere!! She is most definitely on the move and LOVES that she can now chase after her big brother. This morning she chased Aiden all over our family room trying to get his combine. Eventually he ended up hiding under the kitchen table so she wouldn't get it! (She hasn't quite figured out how to crawl on the hardwood floor.) Makayla is just a little thing so its sooooo cute to watch her crawl around. Aiden didn't crawl until 10 months so maybe that's why it seems funny to me to watch her crawling around at 8 months.

A few family pics

2009-10-05T12:49:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago I had Kreg's parents meet us at our corn field to attempt a few family pics. If the kiddos would have been cooperating I think we would have gotten some great pictures. However, we waited too long and both of them were too close to nap time to be happy for very long. But we tried.
The cool thing is these pictures are taken in front of our very own corn! Its been fun this year to own farm ground. Its definitely given me a much greater interest in corn prices and weather forecasts. Its been an interesting year to be first time farmers, with the wet spring, the cool summer temps, and now the sudden cold fall weather and rain again. Nonetheless, in a couple weeks our corn will be harvested and we are really excited to see how our yield is this year.
So without further ado....our corn field family pics with two tired kiddos:

Hey gimme that corn!

Hmmmm....maybe another pose will work.....

And of course now he smiles...when he is in the picture all by himself.

P.S. Harvest has officially begun. They started last week, but its been a slow start with the sudden cold temps and all the rain.

8 months old

2009-09-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

Miss Makayla turned 8 months yesterday. Its gone fast. I knew it would. It went fast with Aiden and time is going even faster with Makayla. So what is Miss Makayla up to these days you ask? Well here's a small list to satisfy you curious readers.
-She is so very close to crawling. She can get up on all fours but she can't figure out how to move forward. She rocks back and forth and then scoots backwards.
-As of yesterday she can now get herself into a sitting position from her tummy.
-As of Saturday she started feeding herself puffs. I'm really excited about this because it keeps her more entertained at the dinner table and another few weeks and I'll be able to give her some table food.
-She sleeps all night (generally) from 8pm to 6am. She likes to eat at 6am and then go back to sleep until around 8am. Although this morning she slept til almost 9am.
-She loves to squeal and can reach pitches I didn't know were possible.
-Makayla absolutely loves her brother (Aiden is a bit taken with Makayla as well). She LOVES it when he jumps up and down to make her laugh. And to my surprise she thinks its funny when Aiden gives her a crushing hug, clobbering her over and making a Makayla sandwich between the floor and himself.
-Makayla plays really well with toys. Unless she's tired or hungry I can plop her down in the middle of a bunch of toys and she can keep herself entertained for quite a while.
-She enjoys riding in a stroller, whether it be shopping or jogging. She likes to look around and take everything in.
-She is in love with her daddy, giggling when he walks in the room.
-She has one tooth and the second looks like it will be through today or tomorrow.

Makayla is a joy to us. We thank God for both of our children everyday.

Grandma Seifert

2009-09-26T04:28:00.001-07:00

This past week was a difficult one for us. We spent last weekend in Chicago with Kreg's oldest brother Kent. We had a great time with Kent, which included a trip to Ikea for me, Kreg finally purchasing his birthday present (a wireless ear piece for his phone. note: his birthday was in July), a visit with another one of Kreg's brother's (Kristopher), a nap, and a trip downtown Chicago to visit my beautiful and most lovely college roommate Miss Heather. It was a great Saturday. However, upon arriving back at Kent's house after our downtown Chicago excursion we got a phone call that Grandma Seifert (Kreg's mom's mom) had peacefully passed away in her sleep that day. We were all shaken and not expecting such news.

Yes, she was almost 91 years old but when we went to Pennsylvania and visited her , just last month, her worst problem seemed to be the annoying arthritis she had in her hip. (God has our days numbered, doesn't He.) She was a lovely woman and I am glad I got to know her. I am so so very thankful we took a trip east this summer...and so recently too. God is good. I will always cherish the pictures I have of Grandma holding my children, especially the pictures of her with Makayla, her great granddaugther. And she LOVED holding Makayla. She would just sit and giggle the whole time.

I can still hear the giggle. God's timing is just perfect. A week before she passed she got to hold her other two great grandchildren, as Kreg's brother Kevin and Jessica took a trip out to see them. And grandma was feeling so good they even took her to church for the first time in years. How awesome that the Sunday before she was face to face with Jesus she got to worship with the body of Christ one more time. Gives me chills just thinking about it.

So Wednesday night my mom arrived to stay with our kids and Kreg and I and two of his brothers left for eastern Pennsylvania at 9:40pm. (His other brothers and wives were a few hours ahead of us) We drove through the night, arriving at 8:15am and tired as we were on Thursday it was a joy that we could be there. We wouldn't have had it any other way. Kreg's mom said how humbled grandma would have been to have all of her grandchildren there to celebrate her life. And as hard as it was to say goodbye to grandma it was definitely a celebration as well. Because she is in the presence of Jesus. And she lived her life for the Lord. At her funeral so many described her as a prayer warrior. When she would tell her grandson's she was praying for them they knew she truly was. She had a list and everyday (ever since Kreg's mom Darlene could remember) she would go before the Father in prayer each morning and pray, pray, and pray. What an example she was to all of us. We will all miss her but thankfully we live with hope and assurance. Hope that we will see her again in Heaven and assurance that we know she is with the Lord now. Thank you God for the peace of eternal life.
This is a picture of Grandpa and Grandma taken just last week. Grandma is holding my nephew James. What breaks our hearts is how much Grandpa is missing his wife of 62 years. You can just see the love in his eyes for his lovely bride.

We got back from Pennsylvania early last evening. And for just a moment I have to brag about my mother. It was hard for me to leave Makayla, seeing as I had only ever been away from her for 4 hrs or so. But knowing my kiddos were with my mom was the best reassurance I could have. When we returned last night the kids were fed, bathed, and ready for bed. Dinner was in the crock pot. Fruit in the frig. And an apple pie on the stove!! The house was clean and picked up. And even my bathroom rug was washed and clean! There were some new clothes for the kids for this fall and even a new toy for each of them. What a mother I have! When I called her and told her we needed to go to Pennsylvania and didn't think the kids could do a 48 trip like that there was no hesitation on her end to keep our kids. And she was even willing to take two days out of her busy schedule and stay up here at our house. Yes I definitely think I needed to brag just a little.

It won't be long now...

2009-09-14T11:31:00.000-07:00

Nope, it won't be long until this little one is crawling. Not only is she pushing herself up, she is scooting backwards. The poor thing gets so frustrated when the toys are right in front of her and she moves farther away.

Some people say "uh oh you're gonna be in for it when they start crawling." I disagree. I loved it when Aiden started crawling because he could entertain himself for a while, with no help from mommy. And Makayla will be much happier when she can crawl. Not only will the toys no longer get farther away from her when she moves but she will be able to crawl over to her brother...and bug him! (something I can tell she desperately wants to do)

Finally.....

2009-09-11T11:23:00.000-07:00

Finally...Aiden, Makayla, and I are over the colds we came down with LAST monday. Way too long to be battling a cold.
Finally...Makayla went down for her afternoon nap today with no tears. For some reason this week she decided she no longer wanted to nap so all week I have listened to her scream and pretty much had no breaks since several days I didn't get her to sleep until Aiden woke up. But I've been working with her, using a bit of tough love and a few new ideas I tried today, and "ta-da" both kids asleep right now and no tears....FINALLY!
And Finally...I am getting around to posting again. Its been a long couple of weeks. We've had some fun times the past couple weeks but we were battling some pretty nasty colds and with Makayla's whole nap issues we've had some rough days. Thus I have not felt like posting (to be honest) and have had no time.

So let me see if I can catch you all up on the past couple weeks:
Last Tuesday Aiden got to go for his first airplane ride. Kreg's family has a small 4 seater airplane. So Kreg, his dad, and Aiden flew over to Decator, Illinois for the Farm Progress Show. Aiden loved it! So here he is in the backseat of the plane with Kreg's dad, Tim, and then checking out the cow with HUGE horns, the mini combine, and by the end of the day out cold!

Then over Labor Day weekend we went down to my parents house to visit with my grandparents, visiting us all the way from Washington State. It was so good to see my grandparents again. I miss them and really wish they lived closer. We played some great games of Yatzee (my first time actually), sat around and watched the kids play, and ate lots of really good food (thanks again Mom!). Saturday we also took a little mini trip down to Brown County, IN where Kreg's family and close family friends were vacationing for the weekend. It was nice that it worked out for us to be both places over the weekend.
So here's a few pics:
Me and my baby girl

A Family photo

My Grandparents with Aiden and Makayla, and their cousins Luke and Rachel. Obviously the kids were not excited about this picture. Look closely and you'll see Makayla is trying to squirm her way out of grandpa's arms.

And Four Generations

Over the past two weeks Makayla has also finally mastered the art of sitting up by herself. She LOVES to sit up and play with her brother now. I also noticed today that her first tooth is breaking through. I know what you're thinking...duh Stacey maybe that's why she hasn't been napping well. And you're right. It very well may be (I really did not think she was getting any teeth yet). But I also think she's just been starting to explore her independence and see how far mommy will let her push the envelope. i.e. She's starting to throw little fits if she has a toy taken away from her or we don't let her put something in her mouth. I do not think it will be long until she is crawling either. Just this week she figured out how to scoot backwards and today I saw her push up on her knees for the first time. She really really wants to be mobile so we'll see what happens over the next few weeks.

And Aiden continues to amaze me with his vocabulary. He understands so much. Its fun to talk with him. He has turned into quite the movie buff lately. If I'd let him I fear he would sit in front of the tv all day (don't worry I don't). He is very into counting things and his new thing is bargaining. He doesn't quite understand how it works but we're ok with that. For example, we say "Aiden you need to eat 1 more strawberry and then you can be done with dinner." And he will reply "No three, I only want to eat three." OK Aiden have it your way. Three it is. :) He's at a fun age. He also loves to play baseball right now. I'm invisioning T-ball in just a few short years. And of course any day Aiden gets to help daddy on the farm is a fantastic day in his eyes. We are just a couple weeks out from harvest so Aiden will really get his fill of tractors then.
I think that should pretty much catch you up. Below are a few random pics of the kiddos. The first one is Aiden and Kreg in front of the sprayer and water truck.

One of Makayla's favorite pass times is eating her feet. (Lori this picture is for you.) It is often a race when we are feeding her food to see if we can get the spoon in her mouth before all 5 toes get in.

And lastly a cute picture of my kids together. This is Makayla's "straight line smile." I love this smile. I can hardly get enough of it.

Sorry for such a long post. Hope you enjoyed it. I will try and do better at updating more often.

Corn Days

2009-08-24T14:26:00.000-07:00

All you ever wanted to know about Salsbery Corn Day (a couple weeks late): (I know you are jumping with excitement)

Every year we have corn day, in which we shuck, cook, cut, and freeze about 600 ears of corn for Kreg's parents, siblings/their families, and ourselves. And for several weeks in the summer we eat all the sweet corn we want/can cram in our mouths before the short season is over. Kreg and I joke all the time that there is really only about a few hours in which the sweet corn is actually perfect to eat. Let me put it this way...since I'm married to a farmer, I'm not aloud to buy sweet corn from the store because "it's terrible." I learned that lesson the first summer we were married! I'm not complaining, I just didn't know. I always tell Kreg with all the butter and salt I put on my corn I have a hard time tasting anything else but butter and salt! Oh but it is quite the delicious combo of butter and salt, let me tell ya!

This year we had 2 corn days. We split it in half for several reasons...1. not quite as long of a day 2. we wanted to freeze some of another variety of corn that wasn't ready yet 3. so other family members could join us for corn day. Unfortunately I only have pictures of the first corn day, thanks to my father-in-law. But I think that will satisfy your corn day curiosities.

First the guys shuck it in the back of one of the farm trucks. I don't like this job because they often have to cut out worms (which is why we make this a boy job). Even Aiden was a part of the fun.

Then we boil it in a huge pot on the grill and sit in the garage at a picnic table to cut, cut, cut, and bag it up. This is typically where the ladies work. Although the last couple of years we've all helped each other and occasionly switched up the jobs a bit because of kids that need attention, and a dwendling number of helpers. You see you can't always predict when the corn is going to be ready. So sometimes we have corn day on a week day (because we can't wait. Its in its prime and won't be nearly as good a few days later) and its not possible for peeps to get off work and make the trek home. The hard work is all worth it though! I love pulling out a bag of corn in the winter for supper. Not only is it yummy, but soooo easy to just pop it in the microwave!

And just in case you were wondering, we made sure Makayla didn't feel left out.

I think she thought she was funny! :)

Baby Girl

2009-08-19T04:47:00.000-07:00

Awwwww....just look at that sweet little smile. I just love that smile!
Update: (For those inquiring minds who want to know) Makayla is doing much much better as far as the dirty diapers go. What seems to work best for her is an organic brown rice cereal with probiotics, made by Happy Bellies, mixed with pear juice. This seems to have corrected her "little poop problem."
I think in this picture she's saying, "Thank you mommy, I have such a happy tummy now."

Makayla is also very close to sitting up on her own. (And please note she actually has a bow in her hair! Her hair is really starting to grow in. She is sporting a bow made by my friend Jess. Thanks Jess! I believe you can buy them on www.etsy.com)

However, a few seconds later, over she goes. Uh Oh!

I thought they both looked cute after church on Sunday so I attempted to get a picture of them together. hmmmmm....that was difficult. This is as good as it got.

Vacation!

2009-08-12T04:25:00.001-07:00

No, we didn't drop off the face off the earth, we just went on vacation! Last Tuesday we packed up the mini-van, woke the kids early and spead off for our 12 1/2 hr trip to Pennsylvania to Kreg's grandparents house. Grandpa and Grandma Seifert had not seen Aiden since he was 6 months old and therefore had never met Makayla. I must say the car ride went better than I had expected. Each of the kids had their moments but thats to be expected and the moments didn't seem to last too long. For some reason my kids don't sleep much in the car so thats one of the reasons for my pre-travel concern. Aiden only slept 30 mins the entire day! But we made it there and it was fun to see where Kreg spent every other Christmas for many years. And where he visited in the summers. I got to meet his extended family on his mom's side too and I enjoyed finally putting faces with names. Of course the part that brought me the most joy was seeing the smile on his grandma's face when she watching Aiden play and holding Makayla. His grandparents are both in their 90s so I'm glad we were able to give them that interaction with their great-grandchildren.

After a few days in Pennsylvania we went up to Rochester, New York to visit a good friend I went to high school with and her husband. Many of you know them...Sherwin and Julie Damdar! Oh we had a blast up there. They just recently moved into a very cute 3 bedroom home so there was plenty of room for all of us (and the loot that goes only with a 2 1/2 yr old and a 6 month old). They were fantastic hosts too! We ate some amazingly yummy meals (Sherwin is quite a cook and I must add that Julie makes a mean french toast). They showed us all over Rochester, including a trip to the public market Saturday morning and the Museum of Play, Saturday afternoon. The market was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was downtown and PACKED with people. You could buy pretty much anything there from fruits and veggies, to ground beef, pastries, bread, nick nacks, or cooking utensils. Personally we came home with a bag of cherries and some apples. The Museum of Play is just as it sounds. Aiden LOVED it. It has all kinds of different "exhibits" for kids to interact and play with. There was a street just like the one seen on Seseame Street, an airplane Aiden could sit in, a train we rode on, a carrousel, a fun house, tractors to play with, and balls to throw, etc. Aiden's favorite part however was the kids grocery store. They have a mini grocery set up complete with miniture wire carts, rows and aisles of real food containers (now empty of course), a bakery with fake bread, and check out lanes where the kids can be the buyer or the cashier. They can actually swipe their items (each with a real bar code) and get a printed receipt when finished. Its the coolest thing.
Ok so time for pics:
Aiden thought it was great that grandma Seifert had an electric chair that went up and down the stairs. I think this picture explains itself!

Grandma Seifert, Darlene (my mother-in-law), Makayla, and Me!

The kids with their great-grandparents.

Grandpa and Grandma Seifert live in a small town in the Pocono Mountains, called Newfoundland. One morning we ate at the local diner, Spanky's. And the morning we left we went to the General Store. At the General Store they have 1 or 2 cent candy. Kids can climb up on a little ladder and pick out what they want. So thats what we're doing in this picture. Aiden was picking out his candy.

On to New York!
The following 4 pics are Aiden at the play grocery store at the Museum. Here he is being my cashier.

Shopping for some crackers.

He decided he needed to buy some fruits and veggies.

And this time he decided to let another little girl check him out with his groceries.

A little train ride.

Sherwin and Aiden on the carrousel.

Sherwin, Julie, and Aiden in the fun house. It was one of those houses tilted on its side so when you walk in you feel totally dizzy.

A family pick in the garden outside the museum.

And us on the front porch of Sherwin and Julie's home before starting the long trek home Monday morning. Makayla was eating Aiden's little bag of cheerios.

Baby Girl

2009-07-28T11:42:00.001-07:00

My poor baby girl is having some pooping issues. Help please! I need suggestions. She's been on solid food for about a month now. She doesn't eat a ton but we are building a small variety of foods. However, from the start she has been constipated. I stopped giving her banana's and I hardly give her much cereal at all. And I added plums and prunes to her diet. But nothing seems to be helping. What do I do?? With Aiden the prunes did the trick. I'm stuck and I feel terrible for her. All she can get out are little pebbles. I am willing to try anything. ????????

On a more pleasant note below is a picture of Makayla with us at Mason and Danielle's wedding this past weekend. Aiden got to stay with Aunt Mindy and play with Luke. I believe this was Makayla's first wedding. She did great too, especially for only getting a brief 30 min nap at the reception. If Aiden had been in this picture I might have accomplished my quest for a fantastic family picture. I love the pic but the quest lives on.

Last Weekend

2009-07-23T04:42:00.001-07:00

I know this is a few days late but last weekend we went down to my parents house so Kreg could attend a bachelor party. The wedding is this weekend for our friends Mason and Danielle. He's a groomsmen so we'll be down at mom and dad's again tomorrow night. We took our time getting down there last Saturday with a stop at the zoo (Aiden has been asking for weeks to see the elephants). So we pretty much just stood in front of the elephants for an hour. He wanted the elephants to get in the water and told Kreg they weren't obeying him because they weren't getting in the water. I thought that was funny. Then we went to the mall and did a little shopping, along with dinner at Chick-fil-a! Yum! (My absolute favorite fast food) And we made a quick stop at the tux shop so Kreg could go ahead and pick up his tux for the wedding.

Sunday afternoon was nice just hanging out at my parents. I have pictures below. Aiden had lots of fun with his cousin Luke and Uncle Mark. The bachelor party was Sunday afternoon/evening so we drove back Monday morning after breakfast out to Bob Evans! (I absolutely love Bob's multi-grain cinnamon pancakes...thanks to my dad!)
Oh and this is cool. They had a guest speaker at the bachelor party. Mason's dad flew in one of the top triathlete pro's in the nation, TJ Tollakson, to be a guest speaker. (Many of the guys involved in the wedding are big into biking and triathlons). I am not familiar with the names of triathletes so I didn't know who TJ was but I'm going to be watching for him now when I see stuff on TV. He talked about his training. The most interesting part Kreg told me about was that he got invited to train at an Olympic training facility and one of the things they do there is train with Navy Seals. Did you know in Navy Seal training the final test in their trianing is to let someone drown them and then revive them. Wow! Crazy! They want to take out all the fear and panic that might reside in a Seal when he is in a dangerous situation. It made me that much more thankful for those willing to do that to protect our nation.
So anyway, here's a few pics:
Makayla enjoying being a big girl now and eating real food!

Aiden very happy to be jumping on Uncle Mark.

And Aiden showing Luke how to "get" Uncle Mark.

But in the end I think Uncle Mark won.

Hip Hip Hooray!

2009-07-16T11:04:00.000-07:00

Well I think its official. Yes I do believe so. Although I don't want to speak too quickly and I'm nervous to post it because I don't want my foot in my mouth. However...I'm going to say it anyway...Aiden is potty trained!!!!!!!! 3 cheers for Aiden! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!

He is doing so well I can hardly believe it. I guess we just managed to train him at the right timing. We started out using bribes (a Hershey kiss, or money for his piggy bank so we could buy a special toy once he saved up). Now he doesn't even ask for a reward anymore. My new 6 favorite words: "Mommy, I need to go potty." He has an accident every once in a while but I have to give him a lot of credit because they seem to be few and far between. Have you ever seen 2T boxer briefs? They seriously are the cutest things ever.

As a reward Aiden got to help daddy on the farm last week. (Only a 2 year old boy would think following daddy around the stinky hog barns was a reward.) He helped Kreg for 2 hours in the hog barns Thursday morning. Then Friday afternoon he got to ride the combine with Kreg because they were harvesting wheat. The picture below is of wheat harvest.

Play Time With Daddy

2009-07-13T11:04:00.000-07:00

Play time with daddy has to be equal opportunity around here. Especially as baby girl is turning into a daddy's girl!

Happy Birthday Kreg!

2009-07-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Kreg's birthday. I know I'm a day late in posting this but that's because there was birthday celebrating to do, no time for posting! So you shall get a post today and topic shall be my wonderful husband.
In honor of Kreg's 27th birthday I will give you 27 things I love about Kreg:

1. He is a godly man and strives to be so. He knows he needs Jesus!
2. He loves me and makes me feel beautiful!
3. He loves his children by not just words, but actions too.
4. He's a hard worker and doesn't complain!
5. He is one fine lookin farmer! :)
6. He keeps me grounded (sometimes I like to dream up in the clouds a little too much)
7. But he still lets me dream. (Currently I am dreaming about running a marathon.)
8. He is such a good daddy. He wrestles around with Aiden and talks sweetly to his little girl.
9. He raves about my cookies and my pie baking skills.
10. He's athletic.
11. He likes to go shopping with me.
12. He's careful and cautious about what we watch on TV.
13. He has a heart for discipleship.
14. He cares about his family and mine.
15. He has a very big heart!
16. He is giving. I often tease him about giving all our money away.
17. It may sound silly, but I love that he loves farming. A husband happy with his work is a very good thing!
18. He kills bugs and spiders for me (when he's home). And listens to me complain when crickets get in our home!
19. He knows how to fly an airplane. He had his license before I got in the way. :)
20. He's silly, yet serious when needed.
21. He likes to vacation at the beach!
22. Did I mention he's good lookin? Oh that's right...best lookin farmer I've ever seen.
23. He respects those in authority over him and is willing to be mentored by men older than himself. He seeks wise counsel.
24. He's fun!
25. He takes things in stride. i.e. I get worked up, he stays calm.
26. He takes pride in his family. Therefore I stand proudly beside him.
and...
27. He loves the kids and I with Christ's love, not just any love.

Happy Birthday Kreg!

"Anything you can do..."

2009-07-08T11:21:00.000-07:00

"Anything you can do....

I can do better."

"No you can't." "Yes I can." "No you can't" "Yes I can, Yes I can, yes I ccccaaannnnnn."
Now everyone sing along!

Fireworks!

2009-07-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

Ok I am going to vent and then I'm going to be done. I know yesterday was the 4th of July. I am very thankful our country has an Independence Day. I am grateful beyond words for the men and women that have fought for our country over the many years. I am blessed to have such amazing freedom. And I am glad we celebrate. Lets all celebrate and have cookouts and run around with sparklers and go downtown to watch fireworks. But lets be considerate of others at the same time. I understand that it doesn't get dark until almost 10pm. But fireworks outside MY BEDROOM windows until 12:35AM is unbelievably RUDE! Yes Rude! I went to bed last night at my normal time, 10:30 (after nursing Makayla one last time). My head hit the pillow but I did not get sleep for 2 1/2 hours more because of the insanely loud fireworks our neighbors were setting off in the street right in front of our house. And these weren't just little cracklers. We're talkin jump out of my skin "boom boom boom boom boom." over and over and over again. Oh I was getting so angry.

Many many thoughts were going through my head, some of them I am going to be honest I probably shouldn't share. I am thankful my children slept through it. Although I had determined if those incredibly inconsiderate teenagers (and adults might I add...who should know better than to be setting off FIREWORKS that late into the night) woke up my 2 year old son I was definitely going out there to give them a piece of my mind. I layed there and pleaded with God to send black, angry rain clouds to put out their bombs and fires! I contemplated calling 911. Surely there is a fireworks curfew (sadly I don't believe there is. I asked at church today). And speaking of Church, these people obviously weren't planning to go to church in the morning. They did not have a husband getting up at 5am to go work on the farm before we go to church. They must not have little ones that wear them out each and every day. And they must not have had their alarm set for 6am to spend time with Jesus and get myself and two kiddos dressed and ready to go by 8:45am. No, they are going to sleep in until noon! I told Kreg I wanted to set fireworks off in front of their house at 5am and see how they liked it! (Its a good thing we don't have any fireworks)

What I don't understand is how people could be so inconsiderate. You would think they would have gotten a hint when they were the only people in the neighborhood still setting off fireworks. Oh how I can't wait until we one day can build a house in the country. Awwww the peace and quiet of the country life. Its so delightful! NO neighbors! Oh that sounds nice.

I finally got out of bed, paced around the house at 12:30am (contemplating what to do). Seriously considering going outside to ask them if they were almost done. But I couldn't do it because I know those people need Jesus too and if I went outside my Christian witness would have probably been ruined. I didn't trust my mouth at that point. As you can tell, I like my sleep!

So what did I do? Well there was only one option left. I did what any young Christian mommy would have done in my position, I turned on and off our floodlights about 10 or 15 times in a desperate plee for them to stop with the madness. STOP MAKING WAR OUTSIDE MY BEDROOM! (our bedroom is right off the front of the house) Then I went and got the phone book to find the non emergency police phone number. I memorized it and headed back to the bedroom to get the phone (yes I was just about out of my mind at this point). I looked out the window one last time, for one last hope. And to my dismay it looked as though the hoard of teenagers were going home. And the dad of the house was sweeping up the street! Oh praise the Lord I can sleep at last! I don't know if they ran out of fireworks or saw my plee for help through the floodlights but either way if we are still in this house next 4th of July I'm taking the kids (and Kreg if he doesn't have to work) and leaving town for the weekend!

So let this be a lesson for all of us. Be considerate of others! And don't set off fireworks in front of my house after 10:30pm!!!

More Pics

2009-07-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

More Pics from last weekend:

Aiden holding Makayla and I think she was actually ok with the idea.

Aiden and Luke watching my brother run a Rototiller. Apparently it was very entertaining.

The boys on their wagon ride with Mamaw. Mom said they each had a tractor and an airplane and every time an airplane would fly over them they would each fly their planes "way up high."

And me getting ready to eat some more cheesecake! I don't eat sweets very often. So when its my birthday I let myself enjoy. And most years I choose to enjoy cheesecake!

My Birthday!

2009-07-01T12:27:00.000-07:00

As promised I have birthday pics to post. I had a great 27th birthday this year. I like to make my birthday last as long as possible and I'd say I did pretty well this year. For starters Kreg took me out last Wednesday (the night before my birthday). We had 2 reasons for celebrating early. The first reason being that we knew Thursday night was going to be busy with packing and cleaning (Kreg went backpacking in Colorado for 4 days with his dad and brothers and I went to my parents house while he was gone...he left last Friday evening). The second reason for our early celebration was that it was 4 years ago that day (June 24th) that we got engaged! So we went back to the Art Museum in Indy and took a picture in the gardens at the very spot where he proposed! Isn't he sweet. And it gets better...for my birthday he bought me a dress to wear and we went to a wonderful Italian restaurant downtown Indy (Mama Rosa's)...yum yum! We topped off the night with a little shopping and ice cream. 5 hours with no kids...need I say, it was a very nice evening! Then on Thursday (my birthday) Kreg and the kids took me out to lunch. In the evening Kreg's brother and parents surprised me with a cheesecake.
The spot where he proposed: 4 years, 2 kids, and a mini van later, here we are!

And my cheesecake the night of my birthday:

But the fun doesn't stop there....my wonderful parents let me celebrate all weekend long. We went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner (Are you catching on to the idea that I LOVE cheesecake....White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle...makes my mouth water!) and I got to open a present for each day that Kreg was gone! And oh my that was fun! My birthday didn't end until yesterday! I also got to spend the weekend with my college roommate. And there was shopping, pool time, and lots of great talk time involved.

Kreg had the camera while he was gone so I couldn't take any pictures of my weekend. But my mom took a few so as soon as I get those from her I'll post a few more.
Here is the studly backpacker himself:

And a few pics of the terrain:

I'm glad they had fun but I'm even more glad to have Kreg home again!

Summer is definitely here!

2009-06-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

Hello loyal readers....I am happy to be up and running again with the new and improved blog (at least I think so). I have much to update you on but we'll start slow so as not to inundate you with too much too quickly!

Hot hot hot! That seems to be the name of the game right now. We are trying to enjoy our summer as much as possible because well summer always goes waaaayyyy too quickly. Wouldn't you agree? So, we've been doing as much swimming as we possibly can lately. Aiden is doing pretty well with a life vest and floaties. He definitely won't sink, haha...that's for sure. We're just working on the doggy paddle right now and kicking but he's starting to catch on. Makayla is not quite a little mermaid yet. Her first time in the pool was last weekend and she didn't seem to mind it. Although she wasn't quite squealing with delight either. I have pictures to document all our fun.

By the way, today is my birthday! And it also marks 6 months til Christmas. Not that I'm counting (don't get me wrong). I just always thought it was neat that my birthday was exactly 6 months from Christmas. I will post birthday pictures later because I do believe Mr. Aiden just awakened from his nap, which was just way too short today.

Oh yes and Happy Anniversary Grandpa and Grandma Deardorff!

Cute swimsuit Makayla!

My Men!

Aiden swimming all by himself!

Jump Aiden Jump!

Woooohoooo!

Going Private

2009-06-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

Well I realize I have not been the best of bloggers as of late but I have been thinking a lot (and we've been busy). Kreg and I have talked and we are not sure its the best idea to continue airing our entire life and kiddos to the big bad world wide web. One reason is safety of ourselves and our children. And another thing that keeps going through my mind is when my kids reach high school are their friends going to be able to find this blog? Are the things I write about now going to be embarrassing to them later? I can just envision Aiden on the football or baseball team and one day having one of his friends bring in one of my posts or a picture and be totally embarrassed. I would not like that. I write this blog so friends and family can keep up to date on us and watch our kids grow. I don't want it to come back to haunt my son or daughter in the future.

So Kreg and I have come to a compromise. Our blog is going private. I had a friend that recently made her blog private and that's what got me thinking. If you know us and you would like to continue to read our blog we would love for you to. My plan is to make the blog private in two weeks (June 24). So if you want to keep up with us then just send me your e-mail address. You can e-mail me at staceysalsbery@gmail.com. I will put all of your e-mails on my list of approved readers and you can sign in and read all you want, anytime you want! The one catch is that you must have a gmail account in order to be a long time follower. If you don't have a gmail account I believe you can sign in as a guest for up to a month. (Gma and Gpa if you want me to set up a gmail account for you just let me know and I will) I am sorry for any inconvenience but Kreg and I both feel if I am going to keep blogging then this is the best setup for us and our little family.

4 months old!

2009-05-28T11:06:00.000-07:00

Sweet baby Makayla is 4 months old today!

Thanks for the picture Uncle Kent!

We have been crazy busy lately, thus the lack of posts. Sorry about that. Kreg has been in the fields solid since the beginning of last week. Some nights they have even worked around the clock. They've been rushed to get the crops in the ground because of all the rain. So I have been in single parent mode most days and that is tough! Shheeeweeeee....I am soooo thankful for the great daddy my husband is and we sure miss him when he has to work so much! Things go so much smoother when the presence of daddy is around. But we're making it and I am happy to report the corn is in the ground! On to beans now.

I have more pictures to post later. Some of the things we have been up to: Kyle's high school graduation and open house (Kreg's youngest brother), spending some great time with Kreg's family that were in town for the graduation, taking Aiden for tractor rides, taking lunch and dinner to Kreg, play dates at the park, walks, jogs, and playing in the sandbox.

Precious Moments

2009-05-13T11:46:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking maybe I should start a "precious moments" series since I witness quite a few of them around here. So I shall give you two today to "aawwww" over.

Precious Moment #1: I took the kids for a jog yesterday after their naps. I love my double jogging stroller. It is most definitely quite the workout. Anywho...about 5 minutes into our run I look through the parent peek window of the canopy and I see Aiden reach over to hold Makayla's hand. (aaawwwww) It was so sweet. I have no idea what prompted him to do this but he held her hand and played with her little fingers for probably a good 10 minutes. Such a sweet big brother.

Precious Moment #2: Aiden loves to copy whatever Kreg and I do. Most of the time its very cute. Well prior to my "real" jog with the kids Aiden decided he wanted to run with mommy. (This is the 2nd time he has done this). So I pushed the stroller and let him run beside me to begin with. With his little 2 year old legs I have to sort of jog in place to let him keep up with me. And the poor guy works sooooo hard to keep up with mommy. It's so cute. He gets his little arms pumping and his head down and his legs movin as fast as they can go. After a few minutes he was huffing and puffing and I asked him if he was ready to get in the stroller. He said, "No (huff and puff), I run (huff and puff) with mommy (huff and puff) and off he went arms pumping, head down, and legs movin for probably close to 1/2 a mile. I know pretty good for such a little guy. I think one day I will be attending his cross country meets. I told that to Kreg and he said no I will be attending his football games...oh ok....football it is then.

Utterly Amazed!

2009-05-11T13:55:00.000-07:00

Yes I am utterly amazed. I am speechless really (except for the words I shall type now). It is 5pm and both of my children are still asleep! Wow! Yes you read that correctly. They both (both at the same time mind you...a feat in and of itself) went to bed at 2 and they are still asleep. 3 hours! 3 HOURS! Wow! This has never happened before. To have 3 whole hours all to myself while both children are in my care. I have a quiche in the oven. Laundry done. Kitchen cleaned up (from said quiche). E-mails read and some even replied to. Phone calls made. The budget updated. And a smile on my face. Wow! (I even wandered around the house a bit not sure what to do with myself)

I was starting to get worried because this never happens. So I went in a few minutes ago to make sure they are still breathing....and yes they are still breathing. They both look rather cute sleeping too...I might add.

So my predicament...do I wake them up? Makayla should have nursed over an hour ago. And Kreg is working late and I would really like Aiden to go to bed at 8pm with no problems. I am wondering if this big nap will mess him up. And yet these words ring in my head "never wake a sleeping baby" (or toddler for that matter). So I guess I shall wait... just a few more minutes! Oh happy day!!

(I'm probably in for short naps the rest of the week) :)

Cute boy, Cute girl

2009-05-01T12:02:00.000-07:00

One cute boy...

+ one cute girl...

= one cute family...

Yes I am biased, but who isn't?

Makayla's Dedication

2009-04-27T18:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had Makayla's baby dedication at church. My parents, brother and sister-in-law, their son Luke, Kreg's parents, his brother Kyle, Kreg's grandparents, Kreg's cousins, and Kreg's Aunts and Uncles were all there to witness it too! Wow such a blessing to have so much family in attendance. The point of the dedication was for Kreg and I to publicly proclaim to our Church body that we will do all that we can to raise Makayla (and of course Aiden) to know, serve, love, adore, obey, and glorify our Savior Jesus Christ. We will strive as individuals and as one to make Christ the number 1 priority in our home. And we will strive to show our kids what a godly marriage looks like.
It is wonderful to have the support of so much family as we make these strides. And we are so thankful for the church family we have gotten to know over the past year (since moving to Kokomo).
Below is Kreg, Makayla, and I standing up front at church. And to the left of us is Kreg's cousin Eric, his wife Allison, and their son Thomas. So fun that there were two Salsbery baby's dedicated on the same day!

After church we had a party at Eric and Allison's home with some yum yummy Salsbery pork (pork bbq to be exact). Below are a few family pics:
Finally a picture of the 4 of us! However you can't see Makayla very well so I shall continue my quest for the perfect family photo. :)

And a picture of us with the proud grandparents!

New Shoes, New Hat

2009-04-24T18:39:00.001-07:00

Aiden has new shoes! Well he has had these for a little while but he has finally grown into them.

Please take note: They are converse shoes. That's right folks. Aiden has his very own pair of converse shoes, thanks to our good friend Josh.
And I want to explain this picture a bit more because if you will notice I am multi-tasking. I was changing Makayla's diaper listening to Kreg chase Aiden around the house trying to get a picture of him in his new shoes. Aiden was not cooperating so when they made their way into Makayla's room I quickly scooped down, got very excited about Aiden's shoes, thus he smiled (and I posed), and *walla* we got our picture. With the picture taken I finished my prior business at hand.
Multi-tasking is the name of the game just about every hour of the day now.

Makayla was happy that her brother got to wear his new shoes but she was even happier that she had a new hat!

Isn't this picture just scrumptious!(sp?)

And I do not think her smile could get any bigger than this:

This is what she does when you simply look at her and acknowledge her presence. She LOVES being looked at...or shall we say adored (but I guess that's a woman for ya, no matter what the age). Its quite funny and absolutely adorable all at the same time.

Two Peas in a Pod

2009-04-23T18:33:00.000-07:00

Like father....like son.....

Aiden followed Kreg all over the yard! He takes his mowing very seriously. And I thought good help was hard to find. :)

Praise!

2009-04-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

First off I just want to glorify God for bringing Andy through a successful surgery and allowing him to go home last night (visit previous post for details or visit Cari's blog). We serve an amazing God! Praise be to the LORD God Almighty!

Secondly I praise God for sending His son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. The gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ is the most precious and wonderful gift you and I could ever receive. I am thankful (in a world headed in the opposite direction) to still have a holiday in which to celebrate Christ's resurrection and victory over death. He is Risen!
So for Easter weekend we had lots of fun to celebrate the Risen Lord. My college roommate, Heather, came to spend the weekend with us and I absolutely loved having her here. With two kiddos in the house it was much busier than the last time she was here but she got to see first hand our crazy yet beautiful life now. Saturday Heather and I took Aiden to his first Easter egg hunt at church. He came home with a bag full of candy I probably won't let him eat but I think he enjoyed his first hunt nonetheless. And on Saturday two more friends from Taylor came to visit, Dustin and Jess and there beautiful baby girl Brooke.
Aiden and Heather waiting at the start line for the Easter Egg Hunt. At our church it is more of an Easter egg race than a hunt. There are sooooo many little ones it is probably a lot easier this way.

Heather explaining to Aiden that he is supposed to run and pick up as many eggs as he can and put them in his bag. It was a slow start...took him a minute or so to figure out what was going on. Poor Heather...haha...it took every ounce of will power to hold back her competitive nature and not pick up all the eggs for Aiden.

Aiden's loot:

And during the Easter egg hunt Makayla snuggled with me in her moby wrap. Isn't she sweet! She couldn't help but take a little snooze.

And lastly a picture of Makayla, Aiden, and Brooke Saturday afternoon. I think Aiden was very proud to be sitting between these two lovely ladies. I'm not sure Makayla was so excited about it however.

Please Pray!

2009-04-08T04:20:00.000-07:00

Most of you who read my blog know my dearest and precious friend since Kindergarten, Cari Chastain. However some of you do not and thus I share this story and ask for your fervent prayers. In September Cari and her husband Andy lost their precious baby girl, Caden Joelle, at only 8 months old. This is a tragedy no one should ever ever have to deal with. The loss of a child, I just cannot fathom. Andy and Cari have remained more than faithful to the Lord through these past months and were pillars of God's strength and grace during the time of Caden's passing. The awesome power of God was displayed and is still being displayed through their godly hearts and attitudes today. Even while their heart continues to break for their baby girl.

God has blessed them too. They are expecting a baby boy in June! We all cannot wait to meet him and shower him with love, as we did Caden.

Then yesterday their world turned upside down again. Cari awoke in the morning to Andy having a seizure. She called 911 and got him to the ER. After some tests it was determined that Andy has a brain tumor. This just can't be happening to them! Not to them Lord no! It is not right. But I know God is in control and He is good, compassionate, merciful, gracious, and shall be praised in all our days! Andy and Cari saw the doctor last evening and received some good news too. The doctor was positive and said if you are going to have a brain tumor this is the kind to have. Very rarely is it malignant. And it is in a location (outside of the brain) where they should be able to remove it. The hope is that Andy will go home with only a scar on his head to show for it. The surgery has been scheduled for Friday morning.

Please pray with us. Cari is asking for prayer and if you are a believer then we are all apart of the body of Christ together and this part of the body needs our prayers. Pray they will remove all of the tumor. Pray the biopsy will show no cancer. Pray for peace of mind for them and their families. Pray for Cari as she continues to carry their unborn child. No stress is good on a pregnant lady, but especially not this.

This family has already been through so much these past months. From an earthly perspective it just doesn't seem right that they would now have to go through this. So we cling to the only thing we can: God is good all the time. And all the time God is good. Thank you for your prayers. Cari would love to know you are praying for them. It helps! If you join us in prayer please feel free to leave a comment on her blog.

Studyin Up

2009-04-06T17:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend Aiden took some time out to study up on the latest farming trends and techniques.

Such a little man!

And all that studying made him hungry. So he decided to "eat daddy's milk" as he put it.

Poor Kreg...just minding his own business and eating a bowl of cereal for Sunday dinner when he was ambushed by a two year old :)
ps...I don't cook Sunday nights, hence the cereal. A big thank you to my mother-in-law for making that a "tradition" Kreg grew up with! I sure do like it!

Pretty in Pink

2009-04-03T11:17:00.001-07:00

Brownies

2009-03-31T10:58:00.000-07:00

So what happens when I ask Aiden if he wants to help me make brownies for daddy???

This:

Look mom my whole hand is in the bowl! hehehehhehehe sneaky sneaky

My Munchkins

2009-03-31T05:49:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share a picture of my little munchkins together. Not much to report right now. Life as usual for the past couple of days. We're chuggin along and hoping for some better spring weather before too long.

Am I a bad mom for not doing anything about Aiden's bed head? I think it's so great.

2 months!

2009-03-28T04:28:00.000-07:00

Miss Makayla is officially two months old today. Yesterday she had her 2 month check up and she is weighing in at just under 10 lbs. She was a trooper for her first round of shots. She cried but calmed down quickly and then pretty much slept the rest of the day. I think it stressed her out more than it appeared.

She is smiling and "cooing" a lot these days! I think she is "talking" a lot more and a lot earlier than Aiden did...we've decided its because she's a girl. :)

And a picture of Makayla with her daddy:

Aiden has been with my parents since Thursday night so Makayla has been enjoying some alone time with us. In only two months time I had already forgotten how much more time I had on my hands with only 1 kid to care for. Its unbelievable how much I have been getting done! Its been a really nice break but I must admit that I do miss the pitter patter of his little feet running everywhere. Below is a picture my mom sent me of Aiden on his way to "pawpaw's" house Thursday night (that's what he calls my dad.) He is really attached to pawpaw these days and was obviously excited to be going home with pawpaw.

My little hog farmer!

2009-03-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

Now that Aiden understands that daddy doesn't just ride around on tractors all day/everyday, he asks me (just about daily, if not multiple times per day) if he can "help daddy with pigs." It sounds something like this "I wanna heep daddy wid peags." Something like that. So......Kreg called me on Wednesday and said it was a good time to bring Aiden if I wanted to. Sure! And oh my when I told Aiden we were headed to the farm to help daddy with pigs well the word "excited" just doesn't explain it. He loved it too! Kreg said he did very well. He wasn't scared of the pigs (they can be very noisy and squeal really loud at times) and he had no problem walking through the hog barns. I can't really explain what the inside of the hog barns are like. It stinks terribly and there are thousands of hogs but it is very fascinating how the whole operation works. If you want to come see for yourself feel free to schedule a visit. Kreg would be glad to show you around.

Anyway, Aiden got to help Kreg move hogs from one barn to another. So he got the best of both worlds...pigs and tractors (and daddy)! My son just thought there was nothing better than that. So that is what they are doing in the picture below. They were getting ready to unload the trailer of pigs into the barn. The pigs are kept together according to size so as they grow they are sometimes placed in different barns. I think Kreg said most of the ones they were moving here were around 30lbs. To give you an idea they like to sell them around 290lbs.

We may start letting Aiden help Kreg once a week if possible. I dropped him off an hour before lunch time so it wouldn't be too much for Aiden. Planting will start in a couple weeks so Aiden will probably forget about the pigs for a while because he'll be getting lots of tractor rides with daddy.

Ok so Kreg is holding Aiden on the left. Kreg's dad Tim is in the middle and his cousin Eric is in the trailor. No one looks happy in this picture because they didn't know I was taking it. They were talking and I didn't want to interupt. What do you think of Kreg's work attire?? haha...his dress shirts and ties don't get much use any more.

And here is Aiden upclose with the hogs. He doesn't look very happy but he was really concentrating on what was going on and way too busy watching everything to actually smile. And I think he was still in shock that he was actually going to "heep daddy wid peags"
And please note his boots. I just love the boots!

Makayla's Room

2009-03-25T05:28:00.001-07:00

Well the final piece of decoration for Makayla's nursery arrived Monday. I ordered a wall decal of her name to put above her crib. I love it! So I just had to post some pictures. Her room was our guest room before she was born (the new guest room got moved to the junk room and we no longer have a junk room...a good thing). It was already painted blue and Kreg asked if we could leave it blue since we just painted it last winter when we moved here. So I incorporated the blue in with pink and brown. It turned out great and I am so glad we left it blue.

So here is her crib with decorations. And please notice Makayla sitting in the corner of her crib. What a cutie pie!

And here is the changing table. I had to include this picture too because I just love the pink and brown baskets.

And here is a close up of Makayla hanging out in her crib with her friends. She has her hippo and her cute little bear all the way from Disney World. Both have been recent gifts from friends!

Another Great Weekend

2009-03-24T05:26:00.000-07:00

We had more fun times this past weekend. Kreg took Friday off so our weekend started early which was so nice! I'm almost daily telling Kreg he works too much and asking him to stay home with us, knowing he can't (having land and hogs doesn't leave much of an "off season"). But on Friday he did! I don't even remember what we did. I don't think we did much but it was just nice to be around the house. And then Friday evening we headed down to my parents for the weekend. It had been almost a month since my dad had seen the kids so we definitely needed to remedy that. Aiden asks for "pa pa" all the time so the poor kid needed a "Pa Pa Hansen fix."

Saturday we relaxed. Kreg played basketball at our old church. And then we took Aiden to Toys R Us to spend the gift card he got from my Aunt Linda and Uncle Doug! Thanks again Aunt Linda and Uncle Doug! Aiden loved it. And it was fun for Kreg and I too. We left Makayla with my mom so Aiden could have a little time with just daddy and mommy. We wandered around the store for a while (Aiden got sidetracked by the choo choo trains for a bit) but eventually he picked out a farm truck with some animals in it. We have noticed him pretending a lot more. Last week for the first time he played for an hour and a half by himself doing organized play i.e. making his animals talk to each other, taking them for rides in his tractors and cars, and setting up little "farms." I was amazed. I did house work and wasn't even in the same room with him most of the time and he could care less. This is a huge change for Aiden. Normally he won't play unless I am right there with him. So this change is great! Even now he is letting me type while he plays with his new truck and animals. They just said "bye bye" to each other.

Sunday it was great to see our Indy church family. We love our new church here in Kokomo but I especially miss so many of the family's I grew up with down there. And Sunday afternoon we had a birthday party for my dad. This Thursday he officially turns 60! However he neither looks nor acts like he is 60 and I think anyone that knows my dad would agree with this statement.
So here are a couple pics from the weekend:

Aiden had lots of good play time with cousin Luke! It is so cute to watch them run around together. They play really well together. They steal toys from each other every once in a while but the problem generally gets worked out fairly quickly. They're good buds.

And Makayla had lots of sweet smiles for everyone. She is doing so well. I couldn't have asked for a better baby. She is my little sleeper too. Last night Kreg and I were discussing she may quite possibly have his sleeping abilities....which means she can sleep anywhere, anytime, and fall asleep instantly. Yes Kreg most definitely has these abilities (sometimes I am a bit jealous). Makayla likes to sleep in til 9 or 9:30 every morning...so not what I am use to with Aiden!

Isn't she just so cute!

And last I had to include a picture of Aiden this morning at breakfast. I love when his hair is longer because it pretty much guarantee's a crazy fun hairdo just about every morning. This morning his "wings" were so big I thought he might fly away on me.

Out For a Stroll!

2009-03-18T04:18:00.000-07:00

We got our new double jogging stroller yesterday! And it was a perfect 70 degree day so we took it for a test drive. It was fantastic! The kids both did great. Aiden just sat up and looked all around taking it all in and Makayla took a little snooze. We were probably out for about 45 mins and not once did Aiden ask to get out and walk. Kreg came home from work early too so we all went for a jog together. It felt soooo good to get out and walk/run.

I rolled blankets and placed them on both sides of Makayla so she was nice and snug. And her sun hat was about 10 sizes too big but she didn't care. The rim was nice and stiff so it stayed off her face and actually shaded her eyes really well, not to mention she looked so cute in it! Aiden looks cute too. He was soooo excited to get going.

And a pic with me and the kids:

Makayla's Big Weekend

2009-03-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

Miss Makayla had a very big weekend. First of all it is now official that she is sleeping through the night! What an all star! She is 6 1/2 weeks and sleeping til close to 6am every morning. Thank you sweet girl! Maybe it was her Uncle Kent's doing because she got to meet her Uncle Kent and hang out with him for the first time this weekend. Why I did not take any pictures of Makayla with her Uncle Kent I have no clue...silly me. I don't think I had my brain turned on (ha and I can't even blame it on lack of sleep). Although Aiden did decided to cry for a couple hours in the middle of the night Friday night and we still have no idea why so maybe I can blame it on lack of sleep.
I will let the following pictures tell you about the rest of Makayla's weekend.
She had lots of smiles for everyone: (thanks for the picture Uncle Kyle)

She played with Daddy and sat way up in the air!

And she went for a horsey ride on her big brother:

And speaking of horses...Today on the way home from our grocery shopping trip Aiden said "Look mommy, horsey!" "Bye bye horsey! Bye bye horsey" And sure enough while stopped at a stop light there went a horse and buggy across the intersection. Now you know you live in the country when you're at a stop light and a horse and buggy (Amish) passes in front of you. Gotta love it!

Taylor University

2009-03-10T11:17:00.000-07:00

Think this picture will get my kids any scholarships or discounts in 16 and 18 years?? It just might be worth a try. Especially since Aiden's college fund when down over the last year instead of up!

A Lovely Week

2009-03-04T18:39:00.000-08:00

It's been a good week thus far. Monday's are always nice because my mother-in-law keeps Aiden for the day. It is so nice to run my errands and get the house clean without having to entertain or play tractors every few minutes (not that I don't like playing tractors...don't get me wrong).
Yesterday two girlfriends from church came over to hang out with us. And they bought me lunch! Thanks Beth and Joy!
Today my mom came up to keep Aiden and Makayla while I went and got my hair done (my Valentine's present from my wonderful husband). I actually went to the local beauty school and they did a great job with my highlight. I love getting my hair done. I love the feeling of being pampered (what girl doesn't!?) and I love the excitement of a "new look." Although this "new look" is pretty subtle. Most people probably won't even notice but I can definitely tell a difference.
Tomorrow I have my ladies Bible Study at church, which I cherish every week.
Friday my sister-in-law, Mindy, and I think my dear friend Cari, are coming up to spend the day with us!
And to top it all off this weekend Kreg doesn't have to work!! I get him home all weekend!

A picture my mom took today of me and the kiddo's:

1 month old!

2009-02-28T07:13:00.000-08:00

Happy 1 month birthday Makayla RuthAnn!

Smiles!

2009-02-27T06:43:00.000-08:00

So this morning after I fed Makayla she greeted me with her first smiles!! I have been waiting and waiting for this. They are few and far between right now but I know this means there are lots more smiles on the way!

So many reasons...

2009-02-24T06:06:00.000-08:00

why I can't wait for spring:

1. I am getting really tired of cold weather. Its always fun at first to pull out the sweaters and get all cozy inside the house but I'm ready to put the sweaters away again. Come on warm weather!
2. It is time for cold and flu season to be over! We have been attacked yet again by another cold virus. And poor little baby girl has the sniffles too! It's so sad to see my 4 week old baby sniffling and coughing. The poor thing hates it when I suck the snot out of her nose but she feels better once we get it out. Makayla can thank her big brother for this little cold.
3. I can hardly wait til we can play outside again. Aiden LOVES to play outside. And he will love it even more this year because we have a sandbox (thank you Sidels!) and he should be big enough to ride his big wheel this year.
4. The arrival of spring also means I can take the kids out in my double jogging stroller (that I don't have yet but will be getting soon). We live in a great neighborhood for going for walks or jogs.
5. Spring means planting season. And planting season means Aiden gets to ride on tractors with Kreg. And anyone that knows Aiden knows how much he loves to ride on tractors! He will be one happy little guy. I love that Aiden can go ride but the down side is it will be a long few weeks while Kreg is working late most nights.
6. The arrival of spring also means baby girl should be sleeping through the night by then! I like the sound of that. She really is doing very well. And in fact gave me quite a long stretch of sleep last night but all night/every night is sounding better and better! :)
7. We will be able to go to the park again. The park has a great playground Aiden loves to play on. And every Tuesday the Book Mobile shows up at the park and the kids get to do a free craft. I'm thinking Aiden will enjoy it a lot more this year.
8. By mid Spring mom and dad will have their pool open! wooohoooo. I can't wait to take the kids swimming.
9. Spring means we will be able to work on the landscaping around our house. We moved into this house a year ago and we didn't change any of the landscaping last year becuase we were more worried about the landscaping for our home in Indy that we were trying to sell. But this year we are going to spruce things up around here and I'm excited about it!
10. And by Spring much more of my wardrobe should fit. I started working out again yesterday. It felt great. And I'm sore today. I may be a strange cookie for saying this, but I love to be sore. I guess it makes me feel like I worked hard. I do something called crossfit for my workouts. They are fast and very effective (and hard but worth it). Its aerobic/srength training in one. If you are ever curious about my workouts just let me know. Exercise is something I have a passion for (I know very strange but its true).

I think I could list more reasons but I started this blog post around 8:30am this morning and I just now finished it (2:30pm), if that is any indication as to what my days are like now (busy....very busy). So I don't think I have time to write anymore. If its not one kid then its the other. I am loving being a mommy of 2 but some days are definitley tiring. And we DEFINITELY don't have anymore boring days. Yes I will admit when it was just Aiden and I home all day there were times we didn't have much to do. I would say gone are the days of having nothing to do.

"mommy pray"

2009-02-20T06:12:00.001-08:00

You know you are doing something right with this parenting stuff when your two year old is the one that reminds you to pray. Yesterday when I was putting Aiden down for his nap he layed down like the good boy he normally is and was quietly saying something. I said "what's that Aiden?" And he smiled at me and said "mommy pray." I normally pray with him before he goes to bed at night (sometimes he reminds me then too) but I don't normally pray with him before his nap. But to be honest yesterday I was feeling a bit anxious over some things and what a great way for God to remind me to pray....by speaking to me through my two year old. You just gotta love it! Thank you for the reminder Aiden!

Our Weekend

2009-02-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

This past weekend started early for me when my sister-in-law, Mindy, my nephew Luke, and my good friend Cari came to visit! Aiden and Luke have a blast playing together. I love to watch them play. And Makayla enjoyed snuggling for the first time with her Aunt Mindy and hanging out again with her "Aunt" Cari. I love it when people come to visit us on Friday's because then it seriously feels like my weekend starts Thursday night. Fantastic!
Cari and Makayla chillin together with some sweet sunglasses:

Cousin Luke and Aiden proudly holding Makayla. And believe it or not I think everyone was actually smiling in this picture.

Then yesterday we tried to do a little photo shoot with the kids. We are still working on a family picture of the four of us. Maybe next weekend. But I think Kreg took some really cute ones of Aiden and Makayla!

BabyLegs

2009-02-10T12:55:00.000-08:00

Makayla wore her first pair of BabyLegs today. This outfit is compliments of my good friend Heather. Thanks Heather!