The Earnhardt Gazette

25 Days Till Christmas!!!

2009-10-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

That's right! Only a mere 25 days until the Earnhardt family will be ringing in the Christmas season at Disneyland!!!
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Last night we booked our hotel and purchased our Disneyland Park Hopper tickets! Matt & I have only been to Disneyland once during the holiday season, and it was WONDERFUL!!! Main Street decked out with Mickey wreaths and a bajillion twinkling lights, the castle shun brightly with a trillion colorful lights, Christmas music and parades, snowfalls every evening, WE CAN'T WAIT!!!
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Jenna has never been to Disneyland, and Jacob & Juliana are at such a fun age for Disneyland! (although in our book, you can NEVER be at a bad age for Disneyland!) We're so excited!
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I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!

A Tough Lesson to Learn

2009-07-20T17:11:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, ya gotta learn things the hard way. You certainly don’t want to, and it’s no fun, but sometimes it’s the only way to really reach a person.

2009 has been tough. Don’t get me wrong, there have been many wonderful things happen here and there, all of which I am truly thankful for! Yet there have also been so many unforeseen events that have flustered me to no end. They have cost us many dollars and much heartache. And this past month has been no exception! In fact, it has been the month to finally push me to say (or scream) “What are you trying to teach me???”

A month ago, I backed out of the garage with my van door slid ajar, ripped it right off (high deductible, ouch). The next day our camcorder died (turned out the main board failed and they needed to replace it, very costly). We used Matt’s old truck while my van was being repaired. Unfortunately it broke down on Matt two days in a row while he was on sales calls. He finally had to get it towed, we fixed it (more money). The kids pulled the rearview mirror down which tore out some glass, the entire window had to be replaced (a couple months earlier the back window shattered and had to be replaced). Two large bottles of tempera paint were spilled on our office carpet, we haven’t been able to get it all up. When we picked up my van from being repaired, Jacob tried to put a DVD in the player and it broke (before we even left the parking lot). It ended up needing to be replaced entirely. On the 4th of July, my big nice camera died (our little one broke a few months back, so that’s all we had left). Our filter in our fridge busted, and unbeknownst to us it leaked water all underneath the carpet in our dining room. A couple days later it became VERY apparent as our house had a rancid smell! (smelled very similar to a couple months earlier when our master bath’s toilet leaked down thru the ceiling of our 1st floor, rotted out some of our subflooring, we had to replace some of it and all the linoleum as well) A few days later we finally made the tough decision to put our older cat, Mouse, down. That was hard enough on it’s own, but what finally broke me was the next day our other cat disappeared…

One thing after another after another… One night after VBS, I lay in bed and was praying to God, “What are you trying to teach me?!? Whatever it is, PLEASE help me learn it fast because I can’t keep getting things taken away from me!” (I feel slightly silly saying that as I know some of you aren’t animal lovers and don’t understand how much loss there is when losing a very loved cat…or two!) (And 3 years ago, we lost three cats in one week…it all just came rushing back when this all happened last week) Anywho, I finally just broke down. I wept, and I wept, and I wept some more...

I was telling Matt last night how frustrated I am. One moment I feel so sad, I can’t stop the tears, I just want to lock myself in my bathroom. The next moment I am ticked at all the unfortunate things that have happened, how much time and inconvenience this has all caused (all the calls to insurance and auto repair shops and manufacturers, taking it out on my kids while they wait less-than-patiently for Mommy to get off all these phone calls, etc.). And then, I feel hallow, and THAT’S what gets me. We’ve talked about surprising the kids with a kitty (or two now that Jack is gone…) for Juliana’s birthday. But I’ve gotta say, I have no desire to have kittens right now! And that is soooo not like me! I just get that stone feeling, that “why, what’s the use, it’s just one more thing to get attached to and taken away?” Not to mention, Jenna is a pill and I honestly don’t know how she would handle having kittens (that’s another story). So if I already have to deal with Jenna being a pill in general, why add her screaming bloody murder every time a kitten comes into her sight?!? She already screams every time she sees a pool, or a dog, or a darn 3” balloon filled with one teaspoon worth of water! (Karen can testify to that one!)

So I keep asking God, “What are you wanting me to learn? Please tell me…”

When I got done working out today, I picked up my bible and again said “Please teach me, God, I need you to!” I flipped open my bible to where I left off last time I read…Luke 18:18-30, titled “Jesus Speaks to the Rich Young Man.” Let’s skip to verse 22, “When Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’” In my Life Application notes it says “This man’s wealth made his life comfortable and gave him power and prestige. When Jesus told him to sell everything he owned, Jesus was touching the very basis of his security and identify. The man did not understand that he would be even more secure if he followed Jesus than he was with all his wealth. Jesus does not ask all believers to sell everything they have, although this may be his will for some. He does ask us all, however, to get rid of anything that has become more important than God. If your basis for security has shifted from God to what you own, it would be better for you to get rid of those possessions.” The bible then talks about how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. The notes say, “The rich in talent or intelligence suffer the same difficulty. It is difficult for a self-sufficient person to realize his or her need and come to Jesus, but ‘What is impossible with men is possible with God.’”

I don’t think of myself as a rich person, we are a one income family with three kids :-) But I do know that we still have a number of “toys,” if you will. Almost all of our “toys,” and now our cats, have been taken away from us over the last month. And now we currently have many things listed on Ebay and Craigslist in effort to pay for the replacement of some of these items, or to pay for the deductibles to get them repaired.

But how much of my happiness, my life’s contentment, has rested upon these things? Where does my priority lay? Do I spend as much time trying to strengthen my walk with God as I do snapping pictures or ruffling our kitties fluffy necks? (again, tears) Have I lost sight of what’s truly important in life and placed too much importance on “stuff”? Do I spend as much time in prayer as I do looking for our lost cat or on Ebay trying to find a replacement camera?

The last Life Application note I underlined in my bible today was “Don’t dwell on what you have given up; think about what you have gained and give thanks for it. You can never outgive God.”

I don’t know if this is the lesson God has wanted me to learn in 2009, or in this past month, but it’s what I’ve been putting a lot of thought into today, and I know it’s a good lesson overall. A lesson I feel I’ve learned the hard way. And it’s my prayer that by attempting to make God my #1 priority, and being in the Word regularly, that just maybe I can learn some of these lessons a little more easily and in advance. A sort of “eternal insurance” that doesn’t require the long annoying wait time while listening to irritating hold music, only to find that you are about to speak to someone from another country that barely speaks English…oh sorry, did I just say that out loud? :o) What I want most in life is to spend eternity with God, for my family to spend eternity with God, and to…I almost said “make it thru life on earth in the meantime” – but really to live a life of purpose. To live a life worth living. To help lead others to Christ. To make an eternal difference for myself and others. To do what GOD wants me to do. How I spend my time, how I spend my money, how I raise my children, how I treat my husband, the kind of daughter and friend I am… I am severely lacking in so many of these areas! So I pray, for God to help me be what He wants me to be, and do what He wants me to do. And in the meantime, keep the mercy and grace comin’, cuz I’m gonna need it!

Trio Progression

2009-07-02T14:19:00.001-07:00

August 2008

November 2008

July 2009

(and yes, I know, the older two are in the wrong spots,

don't get me started!) :o)

A Bad Day

2009-06-05T20:49:00.001-07:00

I know, the title of this blog really makes you excited to read this blog :-) But hey, it is what it is! Let's start, shall we?

It started blissfully last night when I went out with Lisa for our annual Spa Pedicure & Dinner night for my birthday. Ahhhh, so wonderful... We ended the night with sparkling toes adorned with decorative flowers and a special silver jewel on each foot. Great conversation that lasted for hours, no children present, always a pleasant aspect!

A brief moment this morning of enjoying

my pretty new toes

Meanwhile, Matt was being a great dad and took the kids to Jacob's school so he could show them what he does during recess every day. Upon return, it starts... Matt rarely parks the van in the garage, and notoriously pulls in far to the right.

After getting Jacob on the school bus this morning, the girls and I headed to the garage so we could take a trip to Wal-Mart, a very regular occurance for this household. However, the van was pulled so close to the side of the garage that Juliana wouldn't go around as normal to get in the van, in fear of spiders. Upon inspection, I saw no spiders, however realized I wouldn't be able to squeeze in to buckle her up regardless. So I instructed her to stand off to the side while I pulled back, she'd hop in, I'd buckle her up, and off we'd go. Great plan!

The gentle purr of the engine, slip the gear into reverse, slowly back up...and then it happens... Unfortunately the slider was still slid back in the open position, and when pulled so far off to the right already, I'm sure you see where I'm going with this... Yep, yanked the door right off!

So instead of a quick trip to Wal-Mart, I spent the next 5 hours on the phone with insurance, tow company, auto dealer, more insurance, body shop, and Matt several times. WHAT A CRAPPY DAY! And just to top it off, Jacob ran out back and fell, which resulted in skinned up hands and knees. Juliana bit Jenna's finger, which sadly was where she injured her YESTERDAY when throwing a toy at her, so it reopened the wound and sent Jenna into more screaming. It's just been one of those days...

Anywho, so Bob has been towed away to the auto body repair shop, where he'll sit in utter sadness until we can be reunited again. And on that day, that glorious day, he'll be shiny and beautiful and...in tact... Until that day comes, I have been reunited with Larry the Laredo, and Matt is back to driving his nameless Chevy pick-up. We're grateful to still have that trusty nameless truck. And I feel that after he has saved us yet again, I firmly feel that he needs a good strong name! We'll have to ponder that...

Could It Be???

2009-05-06T21:38:00.000-07:00

I just ran 2.5 miles straight...ME!!!...STRAIGHT!!!!! And honestly felt like I could have kept going... Could I actually run the half-marathon with Matt THIS year?!?!? Nah... Maybe?!? ...wow...

First Camping of '09

2009-05-02T21:37:00.000-07:00

YAY FOR CAMPING!!! First off, just to get it out there, camping BIT last year! I am sorry, but Jenna really made things difficult for us last summer :-) As ya'll know, she was quite the fussy baby, but I was DETERMINED to get some camping in last summer regardless! She screamed and cried and fussed, we took turns with her so we each got the chance to have fun with the older two kids, but it really was a bummer of a camping year. Not to mention, one of the trips Matt had a busted ankle, Juliana threw up every 20 minutes from 2am-7am... We gave it a valiant effort, three trips worth, it was just not our best camping year...and I kept telling myself "next year, next year will be better!" And so far it is!

What we didn't realize at the time was that Greg & Stephanie would get a pop-up trailer which allows them to JOIN in the fun! We got to camp along side them on our first camping excursion of the year, and we are SO thankful! We love family time, we love watching the cousins bond and build their relationships, we love adult time around the fire, getting caught up, finding out things about each other that we never knew, and this Sacajawea loved watching the pyro side of Greg come out ;-D

We had some very domesticated Chelan ducks hang out around us a majority of the time, I loved that :-) The kids had fun with bubbles, I got to go on quite a few walks, one of which was solely Stephanie and I, that was nice. Great time around the camp fire, both with and without kids. Matt made up a scavenger hunt list, which the kids were super excited about! He's so good at that. While on the hunt, Mikayla found a VERY cool birds nest. We saw tons of animals, had fun at the park, and just enjoyed hanging out. Us adults even got to play a couple games! Greg put the fear in us immediately by getting a Yahtzee right off the bat... And yet... Sorry, bro! Maybe next time! ;-D

Greg & Stephanie, we are SO excited that your family has a trailer and that we'll get to camp together all summer long! FOREVERMORE!!! We love ya :-)

The kids ready to embark on our first trip of the year!

And Jenna is forward facing!!!

That's a MUCH happier face than last year!

One of our friendly feathered friends.

Jordan and Mikayla eating bubbles :-)

Mikayla and her super cool birds nest!

That's right, Cindy Lauper camped with us!

A super cute Jenna and Daddy

Yep, he was THAT excited :-)

The Earnhardt family! (one of them)

Mommy & Juliana, awww...

MUAH HA HA!!! Great fire, Greg!

Denise & Matt, yep, we're still a couple, we just have to remind ourselves sometimes...

Making a human pyramid...well trying to... :-D

Take two! We love you guys :-)

40 in 4

2009-05-02T21:07:00.000-07:00

I am proud to announce that I've lost 40 lbs in the first 4 months! My initial goal was to lose 40 lbs by my birthday (June 2nd). This puts me a full month ahead of my goal, which thrills me to no end! :-)

One thing that I have wanted is to take up is running. I know, crazy. I have NEVER been a runner! In middle school, we used to run around the school in P.E. and let it be known that I NEVER made it around the entire school, let alone two times! In high school, we ran the track of course, and I rarely made it around the track one time, let alone four! However, as you all know, I am married to a runner. Matt has completed one full marathon, five half-marathons, and various 10K's and 5K's. This last November he ran with a co-worker's wife, a very slender, very fit, gorgeous woman. Not that this was my motivation... ;-) BUT it does help fuel the flame. Could that be ME running along side him one day?!? No way could I do that, I can't even make it one time around the track!

After three months of exercising on our elliptical religiously, the weather started warming up which allowed me to hit the pavement. I walked the first few times, then thought "hey, might as well try to jog to the next mailbox." That grew, I noticed I could go further than I was giving myself credit for, and I am amazing myself! This morning I jogged 1.5 miles...straight...ME!!! Can you believe it?!? I started with a half mile walk and ended with a half mile walk, and I can't tell you how good I feel! The first time I ran a mile straight, I busted thru the door, gave Matt a high-five and was practically leaping out of my skin in sheer joy and giddyness of my accomplishment!

I don't know when I'll be ready for a half-marathon (notice I said "when", not "if!", but mark my words, one day I WILL run a half-marathon with Matt! And I am already proud of myself :-)

So here I am, at my half-way point. 40 down, 40 to go!

One Step at a Time

2009-03-24T22:20:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed I'm trying to get up to date on my blogging this week?!? I'm getting there! One step at a time. That's a good segue into my weight loss update! :-) I'm getting there! One step at a time. I'm currently at a total of 29.8 lbs lost, a mere 0.2 away from 30 lbs! It's funny how those measly two tenths of a pound can keep me from saying "I've lost 30 lbs!" Drives me batty, really. Anyways, I'm getting there, and I'm super pumped about it! I've noticed me giving myself slack lately, not working out as many days each week, letting myself indulge in little treats more often, etc. So I'm getting back on the band wagon now! I just know if I had made even ONE smarter decision within the last week, I'd be at a firm 30 lb loss tonight, and I'd be able to say "I've lost 30!" It's the little things...

BUT I am still proud of my loss, I've been working hard overall and have been seeing great progress, both in how my clothes are fitting and on the scale. I'm finally getting to wear my old clothes again. Yet I am definitely not content with that! I have at least 50 lbs to go, I'm not even to my half way point! So I will keep chuggin' along, and am excited to keep seeing and feeling the progress!

The other day I bought yet another box of cat litter, and it was a 31 lb box. I handed it to Matt and said "This is how much I've lost!" He held it for a few seconds, really taking it in, and just looked at me wide-eyed and goes "That is INSANE!" And it is! It is SO crazy for me to hold that super heavy box and realize I am no longer carrying that around!!! And even FAR MORE crazy to think about losing another 1 1/2 boxes worth (or maybe even two!). I feel like I'm going to be FLOATING around whenever I reach that point! Insane...and so wonderful...I can't wait!

My goal is to lose another 14 lbs by my birthday (remember, one step at a time, I'm making mini-goals all along the way). That means losing 14 lbs in 10 weeks. I can totally do that! I just need to stop cutting myself so much slack! Anywho, when I reach that goal (which I will!), I'm going to FINALLY use a massage gift certificate my boss had given me when I quit McKinstry a couple years ago. And am also going to go get my hair chopped off! A little "pamper me" day in celebration of passing my half-way point and hitting my next goal by my birthday. WAHOO!!! I'm already excited :-)

So there's my update, I'm getting there, step by step, and am SO happy about it!

Is That FROGS I Hear?!?!?

2009-03-23T21:58:00.000-07:00

Why yes, yes it is!!! Matt's bringing out the garbage cans right now, and as he opened the door, the sound of ribbitting frogs came flooding in! That just thrills me to no end!!! You know what that means, don't you?!? SPRING!!! :-D We're closing in on that wonderful time where we get to hunt for frogs in the back yard, not dress in quite so many layers, open the windows, let the sunshine in!!! It's almost here, I can feel it!

Bowling For Buzzards

2009-03-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

OK, so I'm a Lion King fan, I can't help it!

Anywho... ;-)

We've been talking for I don't know how long about going bowling again, but for one reason or another we haven't been able to. So we finally made it happen! Saturday morning we headed out to Acme Bowl for some good ol' bowling fun. They have decreased prices on Saturday mornings from 9:00-11:00am, and we keep wanting to take advantage of that!

The kids had a GREAT time! They did really well waiting for their turn again, and being excited for whoever was up to bowl. It was quite comical waiting for what seemed like hours as we'd wait for some of Juliana's bowling balls to get allllll the way down the lane :-) And one time as it went straight to the right of her ;-D We put Jenna in the stroller with a bunch of cheerios, planted her right up front, and she did pretty well!

I am happy to announce that I both started AND ended my game with strikes!!! I ended with a grand score of 92, which for ME is amazing! I was quite pleased... :-) Anywho, great family time! We then went to Wendy's for lunch, and let the kids play at a nearby park for a while. What a beautiful day outside!!!

Jacob bowling, sometimes right handed, sometimes left, he's not picky ;-)

Juliana very excited to knock some pins down!

A very excited Jacob!

Ahhh, they love each other...(sometimes) ;-)

Jenna's 11 Months!

2009-03-23T20:34:00.000-07:00

Can it be?!? Have we almost reached an entire year?!? I must say, it feels like quite the accomplishment! As ya'll know, Jenna has been quite the challenging baby. Anytime we meet someone new, Jacob says "Do you know her name? It's Jenna. She's a fuzzy baby." (aka: fussy) But even amidst her "fuzziness", the kids LOVE her to pieces! They are such a great brother and sister to her!
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This has been a month of growth for Jenna! Well just barely before her 11-month birthday, she finally decided to start crawling! AND she cut a couple more teeth! She has a whopping 4 teeth now, bring on the steak! ;-D Her new freedom has definitely helped her "fuzziness" issue! Being able to get herself to whatever toys she wants has been HUGE for her! Ahhhh, I love it :-) Of course along with this new found freedom comes other hurdles; choking hazards, chewed on computer cords, ten thousand pieces of napkins and kleenex all over the house, 3 times the mess to clean up, rug burned feetsies, and and and... But I tell ya, IT'S WORTH IT! Seeing that big smile on her face, less screaming, it's worth it!!!

And what else are we super excited about?!? We are mere WEEKS away from never having to buy formula EVER AGAIN!!! Wahoo!!! I cannot tell you how excited we are about that! Nursing didn't work with her from day one, we tried and tried for at least a few weeks, to no avail, so we have bought MANY MANY MANY cans of formula, and my goodness is it expensive! We are SO ready to switch to milk! Ahhhh, what a cost savings that's going to be...not to mention it's another step of MOVING FORWARD! :-) Ahhhh, yes...

All in all, we are so in love with "Baby Jenna", and are SO enjoying watching her grow! It's so fun watching her interact with her brother and sister, watching her big ol' diaper bootie swishing back & forth as she's crawling around the house (especially on the hardwoods! she works so hard, as her pudgy little hands slap against the hardwoods and her cute face has a look of utter determination to get to her destination!), the funny faces she makes, and she rocks her high chair like the best of them!

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So Happy 11 Month Birthday, Jenna! Next up, A FULL YEAR!!! Wow...

Jenna's monthly growth picture next to her monkey

Sweet Baby Jenna showing off her bottom teeth :-)

So sweet...

Standing against a chair, she's getting stronger!

She sure is growing up!!!

The Mean House

2009-03-23T20:28:00.000-07:00

So tonight at dinner, Jacob told us that this is the Mean House. Why did he call it that? Because Mommy & Daddy are always mean to Jacob & Juliana of course! How are we mean? "Because we don't eat our food and you get mad." Yes, I must confess, Matt & I are convicted, he got it spot on, we get very annoyed that our kids don't eat their dinner and we have to tell them to eat each and every bite, one by one by one...and after a few years, our temper grows short and we more quickly tell them to EAT YOUR FOOD!!! What awful parents we are... ;-)

OK, I'm off my soap box now :-)

Jenna's 10 Months!!!

2009-02-17T20:56:00.000-08:00

Happy 10 Month Birthday, Jenna!!! That's right, she's in the double digits now! She sure is growing up, she's like a little person now :-) Granted she still has two lonely teeth (with two up top threatening to pop thru!), and doesn't crawl yet, but hey, no biggie! She's just takin' her sweet time. I love when she gets so super excited and her entire face lights up and she buries her head in my chest! Her brother and sister love her to pieces, they do so great with her, they're very helpful to me, keeping her happy when I'm making meals and what-not. We're really getting into a good groove, and I'm so thankful for that!!!

I am so thankful for family time. When it's just the five of us hanging out, no tv, no computers, just good ol' quality family time. Fun, fun!!! I was also thankful for the wonderful weather we had on Monday! How great was that?!? The kids and I spent so much time playing outside! Played with sidewalk chalk, bubbles, toys, swing, balloon fun, swung the kids around, and Jenna loved playing outside on a blanket! And I have to say, my losing weight has totally contributed to the "fun in the sun" aspect! I have so much more energy, and I WANT to be moving and playing with the kids!

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That leads me to my next update, today I reached the 20 lb mark (20.2 to be exact!). WAHOO!!! 20 down, 60 to go...but let's not think about that right now... ;-D I've been working so very hard at it, still working out every day, watching every little thing that enters my mouth, just trying to keep moving in general. I'm so excited and having so much fun! I still can't fathom losing that other 60...I can see another 20, that's where I often max out and "get content" and stop trying...but this time I'm really looking forward to getting there and CONTINUING ON!!! I have no idea what I'll look like or feel like, like I said, it's unfathomable... We'll see!!!
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Jacob had the flu today, that sure hasn't been nearly as nice as the "fun in the sun" on Monday. I'm really hoping that no one else in our family will get it...time will tell...please no, please no, please no... Anywho, here are some pix of our family fun :-)

Me making Jenna laugh...yes that's Juliana's undies on my head... :-)

Ariel Princess Undies Rock!!! ;-)

Jacob made "FOX" into a fox, like on WordWorld, impressive!

Juliana with her "new doo" ;-D

This is for Baby Jonathan - "Wassup, Cuz?"

Baby Jenna playing outside, LOVIN' IT!!!

We LOVE playing outside! God is amazing...

Silly Juliana having a good time :-)

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

2009-02-12T21:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!! (a couple days early) The kids and I surprised Matt (Daddy) tonight with a little Valentine's Day dinner and some decorations. I cannot begin to tell you how excited the kids were!!!!! It was so fun watching the excitement on their face as they heard his key going into the front door :-)

Also, we've had quite the varying weather lately, huh?!? Hail, snow, warming sunshine, the whole shabang! Anywho, when it started hailing super hard earlier this week, Juliana RUSHED over to put on her boots so she could go play in it :-) She's so cute...

Some Updates...

2009-02-03T21:23:00.000-08:00

Well hello there! I sure haven't been blogging much lately :-) I update people a lot on Facebook and don't even think to blog very often, and when I do, I feel like I'm saying a bunch of things people already know! Anywho...enough of my nonsense rambling :-)
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Jacob's eye doctor appointment went well, very quickly actually. The doctor said that his eye is definitely turning in, and even turns in when wearing his glasses, but not as much so. So he's to wear his glasses for 2 months, then will be going back in for another appointment at which his eyes will be dilated and they'll do a more thorough exam. I don't know much more than that, to be continued... He's doing well wearing his glasses again, we're back to going in fairly regularly to get them adjusted over and over, argh...
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Juliana is doing SO well in dance class! She sure has come a long ways since she started back in September! It's been so fun watching her have fun in dance class, and even moreso, watching her dance at home!!! She closes her eyes and practically floats around the room! The funny thing is watching JACOB practice with her. If she isn't quite getting something right, then he goes "No no, I'll show you, it's like this..." and off he goes :-)
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I'm also happy to report that my weightloss is going well. Lost another 3.4 lbs last week, for a grand total of 17 lbs in the first 5 weeks. My goal is to hit my half-way point by my birthday (23 lbs to go to get there, in 4 months). I'm working very hard on this, I am SO motivated and SO excited!!! I've been working out every day, watching every little thing I put in my mouth, have been trying to be more active in general, and it's really paying off! I'm starting to notice the changes, both in my body in general, and also in how I feel, and I love that!!! I have so much more energy, feeling "tighter", and am finally getting back into some of my old clothes. Anywho, I'm getting there, still at least 63 lbs to go over all, but I'm getting there!!! YAY!
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Also, as for my bible reading, I'm definitely reading more often, but need to keep working towards making it a daily thing. I'm finally done with Mark and have started Luke. It's been really neat reading these books of the bible during the months between Christmas and Easter, it makes the "holidays" much more meaningful, brings them to life and helps me keep in mind the REAL "reason for the season".
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Let's see...anything else?!? Jenna finally learned how to roll over, at 9 months of age! She's also learned to wave Hi and Bye, and just started clapping this week :-) Big month of development for her!
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I hope this blog finds you well and that you have a great February! Who else has been enjoying this WONDERFUL WEATHER?!?!? We've walked to the park twice this week already and the kids have been playing outside a lot! LOVE IT!!!

Where To Begin...

2009-01-20T21:18:00.000-08:00

What a day... I knew I'd be blogging today, but I thought it'd just be over two things, Jenna's 9-month appointment and my weightloss update. Little did I know...

The day began with me working out bright and early, did the elliptical, sat on the floor to do my abs workout, Mouse walks up behind me, and while standing pees all over my back... (I still have not done my abs workout today) I took a shower, made a vet appointment for her, and tried to not hate her. She has always been our problem cat. Pees on things, poops on things, pukes on things, very tempermental, won't let anyone go near her (except me...if no one is around, or if it's dark and quiet). Needless to say, I'm frustrated with her.

Got the kids ready, put Jacob on the bus, then it was off to Jenna's 9-month well child check. Was thinking it would be an easy one (like the 9-month one normally is), but she had to have a shot they didn't have in stock at her 6-month appt, also her first flu shot, and of course once she's finally not screaming and is somewhat happy again, we had to venture downstairs to the lab to get her blood drawn for an iron test, more screaming, and she bled on me. So far I've been peed on by a cat and bled on by Jenna. Good day! ;-D

As for her appointment though, it went fairly well, she didn't scream until the doctor actually took her out of my hands...then Jenna stated her opinion! ;-) She's off the charts for both her height and weight - shocker, huh??? I don't have the papers in front of me so I can't say her length, but she weighed 23 lbs 4 oz. She's been doing well the rest of the day. Spit up all down my back, that was nice (like A LOT) (and I didn't know about it until Juliana told me).

Took Mouse in for her vet appointment. The vet was noticing how she crouches down and the way she moves and sits. She's thinking Mouse is getting to the point where she has arthritis in her back legs, can't move around like she used to be able to, so she can't squat to pee, instead needs to do it standing up. Anywho, they kept her overnight and are going to call me in the morning to see if she has a urinary tract infection, or if it's just age/arthritis, or behavioral, etc. The kids were NOT happy that we left her there. "We're leaving her here??? But I might miss her!" (on the way out to the car)-"I miss Mouse...can we go back and get her?" "Oh come on, you guys never even see her!!!!!" I had just already had a day, they weren't helping :-)

Then Jacob...but we'll save that for last. Then it was off to Weight Watchers to get the verdict on how much I lost over the last week. And the grand total is...(drum roll please)...6.4 lbs! For a total of 12.2 lbs over the last 3 weeks! YEEHAW! That sure brightened up my day!!! I have been working SO hard at it, I have been working out EVERY DAY, and watching every little thing I eat. The week before was only a 0.6-lb drop, which had annoyed me because I knew it wasn't accurate, it was just because I had gone out with the girls late the night before and that threw it all off. So really it was probably more like two 3-lb drops two weeks in a row. Yaddi yaddi yadda, just wanted to explain the big drop :-) So I was very happy about that, hit a mini-goal (12 lb mark) (my next mini-goal is 24 lbs). Went out to dinner with my mom afterwards, one of my FAVORITE things to do now! It's become our weekly date and it's so nice!!! I get to eat, like immediately! No taking care of three kids first, taking kids to the bathroom, getting a bottle made, any of that stuff, just get out my own food and EAT! And have full conversations with another adult (more importantly, MY MOM!). No interruptions, no "don't do that, no screaming, that's not good restaurant behavior, do you need to lose your privilege?, let me get napkins to clean that up..." It's wonderful! I can't even express!

Then off to worship practice (my other favorite thing of the week!). During prayer time at the end, I could feel myself winding down. I had a chance to process what had happened throughout the course of the crazy busy day and the most important thing - Jacob. And I cried... And then I cried again... And the whole way home... (I'm sure exhaustion has something to do with it!)

We've been noticing his eye going in just when he's looking at things really close up, like when he's holding something right in front of his face. But it's been like that for a while now and that has been the only time it goes in. Matt noticed yesterday that it seemed like maybe more than that. Then today after the vet appointment, I saw it...again...and again...and again...and not just when he's looking at something close up... He kept looking at things with his head cocked to the side too. I asked him if he was having a hard time seeing, he paused and said no. I asked if things were blurry, he again paused and said no. About 30 seconds later, he said "...yeah...things are blurry..." Oh how my heart breaks for him!!! I have to admit, I am so sad and so frustrated for him and even angry. Not at the doctor, we knew this very well could happen, it's very common. It was just going so well, and we were hoping, hoping, hoping that he'd be one of the lucky ones that didn't have to have the surgery redone. I don't want to look at that pasty white face at Children's again as he's coming out of his anesthetic, I don't want to see him have another reaction that causes his eyes to swell up out of his eyelid and turn orange again, I don't want to catch him in the bathroom staring at himself in shock at how he looks, and then crying because of it... Oh how my heart breaks for him... We called his eye doctor to see if we should be doing something until his appointment (which is a month away), and they want to see him sooner, so he has an appointment on Thursday. Please be praying, for God's will, for peace, for this very sad mommy not wanting to watch her son go through that again, but of course willing if it means he'll finally have this over and done with! I don't know if he'll have to do the whole process of glasses & patching it until it's stable again before they can perform the surgery. We'll see... I'm very anxious for Thursday.

Anywho, so there ya have it, Tuesday at the Earnhardts :-)

This Day In History

2009-01-17T20:54:00.001-08:00

I decided to journey back once again and look at each of our kids on the day they turned 9 months old. Journey with me...

Jacob at the activity table (Jenna was just doing this today too!)

Jacob again. OK, does anyone else see the resemblance between Jacob and Jenna?!?!?
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This is one of my all-time favorite pictures! Juliana in all her glory :-)

Obviously I had my photo equipment up thru her babyhood :-)

Jenna holding her feet...makes it difficult to change diapers!

A girl version of Jacob, I tell ya!

This-N-That!

2009-01-17T20:09:00.000-08:00

It's been quite a while since I've posted a blog! I think I got a little blogged-out over the holidays, needed a break from it :-)

Jenna's 9 Months!

Jenna turned 9 months old day, YAY! She has her 9-month appointment on Tuesday, I'm sure I'll be blogging again after that with all her stats and stuff ;-) She's been pretty fussy last week, had an icky cold (which most people heard about on Facebook, she was center of attention at the school bus stop the other day). We think she's also getting ready to cut a couple teeth up top, so she's looking to be fussy for a while! Let's see...9 months old...she has rolled over one time, doesn't crawl, has two lonesome teeth...but she's cute as a button and is just taking her own sweet time on all those milestones! (as all our kids have)

Resolutions

I'm not big on making resolutions, I have more the mindset of "if you want to make a change, do it NOW, don't wait until a specific date!" That said, I do have two resolutions for this year :o)

#1 - To finally finish reading thru my bible! I technically have read the whole thing by now, but I'm trying to read it from cover to cover Life App wise. I started about 2 years ago, I read every verse and every life app note that corresponds, every bio, etc. Needless to say that takes a long time. HOWEVER I have also been slacking in that area ever since Jenna was born. SO I want this to be my year to finally finish! I am currently in the end of Mark. I'll get there!!!

#2 - To finally lose my insulation!!! Yes, it's very obvious that I need to lose weight. I've gone up and down, up and down, up and down, but never gone ALL the way down to where I'd like to be. Although I know that I most likely will not lose ALL 80+ lbs in this calendar year, this is my year to be serious about it and get as far as I possibly can! Even better yet, my mom & I are doing it together!!! She has been such a great support system and accountability partner for me! We've been working hard since Tuesday, December 30th. To date I've lost 9 lbs. I feel great about that and am SO motivated this time!!! Since then I've worked out all but two days, have been eating well, and already can feel a difference. I am SO excited about that!!!

There are so many reasons why I want to lose weight... My relationship with my husband, Matt. My kids, both to be a good example AND so I'll be here when they get married and have kids of their own! For myself, so I can feel good and comfortable in my own skin. So I can finally wear something other that workout pants and a t-shirt! For my confidence level, up on stage when I'm up with the worship team, when I'm just walking around in front of people, when I'm at my old work (which happens to be Matt's current work!), all the time! I'm tired of being the fat daughter, the fat sister, the fat friend, the fat mom, the fat worship team member, etc. I know that sounds harsh, but that is completely the way I view myself, and am SO ready to NOT be that person anymore!!! So as much as I hate to admit it to everyone else (because then I will be "watched" more closely), I have to shout it to the world that I want to work hard on this and finally SUCCEED, and by you all knowing, I'll be held all the more accountible and be all the more supported. So there ya have it!

Alrighty, that's about it! Oh yeah, and Matt & I kicked butt today at getting stuff done around our house! We went through so many boxes of baby clothes and various other items, dropped stuff off at Goodwill, listed a few things on Craigslist, put all our holiday boxes up in the rafters, SO many things we've been wanting to do! WAHOO!!! :-D I am sooooo excited about it!

OK, that's all :-) I hope you are all having a wonderful 2009!!!

Jenna's 9-month growth picture next to her monkey
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She wasn't cooperating very well...but she's so super cute!
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Still not cooperating...

She's mobile in her own little way, turns and scoots a teensy bit :-)
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She is SO much cuter than me! But I'll be cuter soon!!! Watch out world!!! ;-D

More Christmas Festivities!

2008-12-28T14:48:00.001-08:00

We got together with Greg, Stephanie and the kids on Friday to celebrate Christmas, and what a great night it was! We hung out, played foosball, ate pizza and snacks, played Disney Trivial Pursuit while the kids were watching a movie (the kids watched MANY movies that night, while playing of course!), and topped the night off by getting Stephanie on Facebook finally! (that just may have been my favorite part, as the dads had all six kids on the other side of the SHUT door that Stephanie & I were behind while getting her started on Facebook!) (ahhh...) :-) All in all, a GREAT night!

The boys playing a game of foosball...IT'S ON!

Jacob very excited about his new fishing game!

Juliana LOVES her gifts!

Jenna opening her gift from Uncle Greg and Aunt Stephanie.

A super cute picture of Aunt Stephanie and Jenna!

The Earnhardt cousins! (we're so glad they're back!!!)

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Then on Saturday night the Wagners came over for OUR annual Christmas get-together! Another night of hanging out, talking, yummy food, playing games, and kids watching movies! I tell ya, I love holidays!!!!! My parents had bought me the game "Would You Rather...?" for Christmas, so we broke that open and played it for the first time with the Wagners. A GREAT GAME! We had such a good time playing it!

The "surrogate family", the kids and Gabe!

Jenna with her new book! I love Veggie Tales books!!!

Juliana loving her new ballerina toy!

Gabe was excited to get a Hulk toy!

Jacob and his huge floor puzzle!

Jenna reading her book...she's VERY advanced ;-D

Aunt Lisa reading the book to the girls :-)

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THEN, on Sunday morning Jacob was in his first Kids Praise Christmas performance!!! He did SO great doing all the hand motions and singing the songs! (as did all the kids!) It's neat having him up there with so many close friends and family, like James, Austin, Ryan, and many others. He did the hand motions moreso during the 1st Service performance, but the 2nd Service performance was just too good to pass up! So that's the one I choose to upload right now. My favorite part is around the 1 minute and 40 second mark (or so), when Jacob loses his balance. :-) I am SO sorry, Ryan! But Ryan sure recovered well and kept right on goin'!

Jacob and other Kids Praise kids in the Christmas performance.

Great job with the hand motions!

2nd Service Kids Praise Christmas Performance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxzoqKKR6Mw

(Jacob is front row, 2nd from the left)

(If you have high speed connection, you can choose the "View In High Quality in the lower right corner of the YouTube video screen)

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I believe that concludes our Christmas festivities for 2008!!! I just asked Jacob if we should start taking down our Christmas decorations, which he PROMPTLY told me NO! So I think they'll be up for a few more days :-) My goodness, it's almost 2009, can you believe it?!?!?

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-25T12:21:00.001-08:00

Can you believe it's Christmas?!?!? And a white one at that!!! As with most of you, it's been snowing SO much over this past couple weeks, and it just makes it all the better to be snowing ON Christmas Day!!! It had been snowing most of last night, when we went to bed around midnight we had another two inches. It must have snowed a bit longer thru the night, but had stopped by the time we got up this morning. Then started AGAIN around 9:00 and still hasn't stopped!!! HOW WONDERFUL!!! It just keeps piling up higher and higher, we are loving it!

The kids have had SO much fun this morning, opening their presents, Daddy made french toast for breakfast, then opening their stockings, and then playing with a bunch of toys! They are now watching what Jacob still calls "Kunda Panda" (Kungfu Panda). A little bit ago Jacob goes "I'm still in my pajamas!" To which we replied, "Yep! You can stay in them all day and just play play play!" (and eat eat eat, candy candy candy) :o)

We hope you're all enjoying a wonderful Christmas as well! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! :-D

Jenna chewing on a bow from Santa.

The kids opening their gifts from Santa!

Juliana's Tinkerbell Movie!

A very happy Jenna!

Jenna liking her new balls :-)

Juliana's cool new toothbrush!

A Phineas & Ferb shirt! He loves it :-)

Juliana's ballerina Little Einsteins doll.

Kungfu Panda! I finally get to watch it!

Juliana loves her new Little Mermaid nightgown.

Juliana helping open Jenna's present.

Jacob's fun drawing stuff!

The kids helping open Jenna's fun toy!

Jacob's new Leapster games.

A cool personalized ornament from Papa Earnie!

The kids about to open their bags from Grandpa & Grandma Hirst.

Jenna looking at her new Hirst gifts!

The kids and their 2008 ornaments!
(Jenna: Bear with "BABY" block letters)
(Juliana: Tinkerbell with Juliana's picture in the frame)
(Jacob: Transformers!!!)

Jacob and all his presents from the Hirst exchange and this morning.

Juliana with all her presents from the Hirst exchange and this morning.

Jenna and all her gifts from the Hirst exchange and this morning.

Jenna and her ballbit balls!

She's sooooo happy!

Jack giving us a present! ;-D

Jenna in her new ballpit!

Jenna loves her new toy!!!

Mommy is SO happy about this gift, maybe I can get stuff done around here!!!

Jenna hugging her new toy :-) "I love you, ballpit!"

The kids playing together, they ALL love it!

The Earnhardt Family on Christmas morning!!!

SILLY EARNHARDTS!!!

The Earnhardts and their Stockings :-)

Daddy's candy :-)

Jacob and his hotwheels!

Juliana's Ballet Slipper Jewelry :-)

Juliana's excited about her princess nail polish!

The kids and their stockings :-)
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P.S. They're still watching Kungfu Panda (1:00pm) and now Jacob is HIYA'ing everyone and everything and calls himself the Kungfu Master :-) And yes, it is still snowing, and it's still THICK!!! WAHOO!!!!!!! OK, two more pictures...

Sooo doesn't do it justice, we have about a foot of snow now!
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The kids again playing in the super cool ballpit :-)

Christmas Eve Festivities!

2008-12-24T23:30:00.000-08:00

We had our Hirst Family Christmas at my parents house on Christmas Eve and had a great time! That room gets fuller and fuller with our ever-increasing number of grandkids! We're noticing that it's definitely getting harder to keep everyone "patient" long enough until it's their turn to open their next gift (it takes a long time to get through 18 people worth of gifts!) (good thing there's only 2 packages for each person!).

Grandma had a craft all set out for when we got there, the kids got to color nifty cups that they'd get to drink out of throughout the remainder of the evening. It was neat seeing how all the older kids' coloring has progressed over the years! We then had a super yummy meal!!! Then the cousins put on a little talent show: sang various songs, James read some verses, Abby read the Christmas story out of the bible, and a couple more songs. Time for presents! Everybody got such perfect gifts. Which leaves one thing left, DESSERT! Yes, 4 options of desserts to choose from (or have all 4 of course!). At last, the youngins started "hinting" that it was time to call it a night, so we tidied up as much as we could with "hinting" children at foot (aka: tired & fussy), and I'm sure left a terrible mess for my parents to clean, and headed home (which reminds me that I'm thankful for all the DOT crews making the roads drivable, and us all having rigs that could plow through the rest of the snowy roads, and crazy parents who shoveled and shoveled to help us get into their driveway) :-)

Once home, we got all the kids in their Christmas PJ's, read Twas The Night Before Christmas, Jacob said a prayer, tucked them all in bed, and off Matt & I went to wrap wrap wrap :-) What a great day!!!

Jacob & Grandma hanging angel ornaments

Maya & Jacob showing off their lost teeth!

Juliana holding "Baby Jonovan" :-)

Jacob helping Aliya color her Christmas cup.

Jonathan is SO cute!

Aunt Denise holding Baby Jonathan.

Baby Jenna goin' for Grandma's glasses...they all do...

Kyra and her awesome cousin, Kyra!

Abby, Kyra, James & Jacob singing Jingle Bells.

Maya, Kyra & Abby singing Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Jenna's first Christmas!

Jacob was SOOOO excited about his letters!!!

The longest pose EVER!!!

Juliana opening her first gift :-)

James slyly picking out a present for himself :-)

James' new Frame-It game.

Juliana was on cloud nine over this gift!!!

Aliya excited about Elefun!

Jacob's cool Solar System book!

Jenna hanging out with Aunt Stephanie.

Maya's turn to open gifts.

PINKALICIOUS!!! A well-loved book!

A very happy Jonathan opening a gift.

Kyra's so funny :-)

Jonathan's cool John Deere tractor!

Curly Lox opening a Disney book!

Baby Jenna's so happy :-)

A happy Juliana :-)

Jacob helping open Jenna's gift.

Our "Happy Birthday Jesus" Cake!

Time for bed!!! Santa's coming soon!!!

All three kiddos in their Christmas PJ's!

A Visit From The Tooth Fairy!!!

2008-12-23T08:48:00.001-08:00

Jacob was so excited to go to bed last night, he tucked his tooth slightly under his pillow, grabbed his blankie and giraffe and had the biggest smile when we tucked him in! (soooo cute!) And he very excitedly came up to me this morning with his coins in hand - "The tooth fairy came! And she brought me 4 coins!!!" He currently has the video camera in hand and keeps recording himself over and over and over, saying that he lost his tooth and that the tooth fairy came :-)

Reading a quick bed time story.

Jacob's 1st tooth under his pillow, and ready for bed!

The Tooth Fairy came!!!

Last night, Matt, Jacob & Juliana all worked tirelessly at building the coolest igloo! Complete with a dyed penguin on top, Jacob made a duck off to the right, and they made a snowman as well. SUPER COOL! Enjoy the pix!

Juliana exiting the super cool igloo.

Jacob inside the igloo with a big block of snow!

Juliana standing up tall and proud!

Jacob making revisions :-)

The back of the super cool igloo!

The igloo during the day, isn't it awesome?!?

Time For The Molinator!!!

2008-12-22T18:56:00.001-08:00

For those who have seen The Santa Clause 2, you may recall the Tooth Fairy wanting a new name, and by far the coolest was The Molinator! Why do I bring this up, you ask? Because tonight Jacob's first tooth has finally come out!!! :-D
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Matt and Jacob were horsin' around in the middle of the floor, when all of a sudden Matt looked across the room at Jacob and said "Did your tooth fall out?!?" To which Jacob replied "No." Matt, "I think it did, come here!" And sure enough, it was gone!!! We then had to search the floor to find it, and there it was in the middle of the living room carpet!
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So tonight we will have our very first visit from the Tooth Fairy, or as I prefer to refer to her (or him!) as "The Molinator!" YAY!

Jacob's call to Grandma & Grandpa Hirst:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUt1lKYyv_A

Jacob's call to Aunt Stephanie E.:

(once I thought to put the darn phone on Speakerphone so you can hear BOTH sides of the conversation!!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_UWI49nirk

Karen, I wish I had your phone call video taped!!! ARGH! Live & Learn, I guess :-)

Snow Gallore!

2008-12-22T15:44:00.000-08:00

Man alive, it just keeps piling up and piling up, huh?!? It has been such a wonderful couple of weeks of snow!!! The kids went in the back yard to play in it for a long time today, I held Jenna for part of it, and put her inside for part of it (in and out, in and out, in and out I went) (she wasn't very happy I left her alone, but hey, I want to have fun with the older kids too!). Anywho, we love the snow, love it, love it!

Jacob loves hulahooping!
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Jacob's mega-sandwich!
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Jenna checkin' out the snow outside.
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Juliana being silly :-)
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Juliana trompin' through the thick snow!
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Jacob sliding down a snowy slide!
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She's so cute :-)
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Jenna checkin' out the snow from outside.
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Juliana swinging :-)
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Juliana eating the snow off the sliding glass door :o)
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The boys hard at work.
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Mommy enjoying the snow.
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Jack playing in the snow too.
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Juliana chasing me with a snowball!
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Jacob making a snowball.
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Happy siblings :-)

Night Time Snow Fun!

2008-12-21T19:45:00.000-08:00

We have found that we're doing most of our snow fun after Jenna is down for the night (so we can ALL join in the fun instead of taking turns with the kids), so here are some pictures from tonight. :-) Juliana didn't last very long, it's pretty darn cold! But Jacob had fun for quite some time!!! (as did my BIGGER boy, Matt) So I'm thinking we have about 3-4 more years until we will ALL play in the snow as a family at this rate?!? :o)

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Fun, Fun, Fun!!!

2008-12-18T14:42:00.000-08:00

OK, may I just say how bummed I was yesterday to of anything LOSE more snow than we gained! I think God was just being kind to the Curreys so they could fly in safely and not deal with delays :-)

How wonderful was it to be able to watch the snow flurry all morning?!? What better time to pull out our Gingerbread Train Kit! It was so awesome getting to sit there with lit up Christmas trees in front and behind us, snow falling right outside the window, our five stockings hung behind us, a red tablecloth, etc. - it all added up to a WONDERFUL time of putting together our Gingerbread Train! "It's the most wonderful time of the year!" That song kept ringing through my head as we were working on it, you can't not smile!

On another note, our Baby Jenna turned 8 months yesterday!!! What a joy she is :-) (I know, I was singing a different tune about 2-8 months ago) She sure has been a joy in our family, the kids love her to pieces, she has the biggest smile, and now you can't not notice her two teeth!
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Jenna's monthly picture next to her monkey
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A very cheesy Jenna ready for her first Christmas!
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Yummy presents :-)
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A very happy Juliana watching the snow fall!
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Two extremely excited kids from watching the snow flurries!
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Our little Snow Princess
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...not sure how she got all the snow down her coat, but she's happy!
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Time to put together the Gingerbread Train!
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Putting together the walls
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Starting to decorate
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Mom, thought you'd like her hat, it's a Cowboy Princess Hat!!!
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Jacob working hard on decorating
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The finished product! Great job, guys!!!
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A couple days ago they made these Christmas crafts,

which are now proudly hung on our walls!

Tinkerbell Returns

2008-12-18T13:54:00.000-08:00

Every now and then Juliana just HAS to put on her Tinkerbell costume (which I'm surprised even fits as she wore it 3 Halloweens ago!) (although I'll also add that it's a bit "thongy" on her nowadays). ;-) And also a picture of Jacob showing off his wiggly tooth, he shows us at least a few times every day!

This one is for you, Karen! ;-D

Of course Juliana had to put the tiara on Jenna.
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She's so beautiful :-)
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Silly Sibblings :-) I'm glad they love each other so much!
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"I Love You, Gacob!!!"
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Jacob pulling his wiggly tooth forward for all to see!

(although the picture still doesn't do it justice,

getting closer, but it still has a while...)

More Snow - YAY!

2008-12-14T10:33:00.001-08:00

We got a little more snow last night, so back outside we went :-) We pulled the kids through some of the neighborhood and let Jacob sled down a little hill a couple times. He had a GREAT time, Juliana had fun for a while but then got too cold, Jenna was happy being pulled for a bit, but the wind was SO CHILLING, so she didn't last long. Came back home and got the girls back inside, and Jacob kept playing out back for a while. I sure love the snow, it's soooo pretty!!!
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Earnhardts X2

2008-12-13T21:52:00.001-08:00

We watched Mikayla, Jordan and Isabella tonight while Greg and Stephanie went out on a date, and all the cousins had so much fun! They did a craft, rough-housed, played with legos, watched some Christmas shows on TV, and A LOT of playing with the dog we're watching. It was snowing when Greg & Stephanie came back, so they took the opportunity to play in the snow for a few minutes before heading back to Graham ;-) We're so glad they're back, it's so fun being Auntie and Uncle to the kids again, and for our kids to have so much fun with their cousins!!!

Here is a video of one of Jordan and Mikayla's songs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK8OLHJTFI4

And here is a video of Jacob and Juliana singing as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJMSVMn0YkM

FBC Women's Luncheon

2008-12-13T15:37:00.001-08:00

Once again the FBC Women's Ministry Team wowed us all! Today was the Women's Luncheon at church and it was wonderful. They had a Not-So-Hallmark presentation, it was such a great idea. His Harmony blessed us all with their beautiful voices, and even had members from their early years join them for one song. It was so neat seeing them all up there together, their voices blended beautifully. The servers were all men from the church, which included my dad! He was a great server, the fastest and most efficient one there! (and best lookin'!) ;-D Women 3rd grade and up are invited to this event, which this year included Abby and Mikayla! It was so fun watching the girls, they even helped with the entertainment and passed out chocolate to everybody! The only thing that would have made the event completely perfect were if my mom could have been at our table. If only the tables could fit more like 15 people... ;-) I'm glad we at least got to get some pictures taken, and watching her up on stage. (and am overjoyed that she did not talk about sex this time!) :o) THANK YOU, MOM!

Well done, Ladies, the afternoon was fantastic!

Snow Much Fun!!!

2008-12-13T15:13:00.001-08:00

Oh my goodness, the kids had so much fun in the snow this morning! Jenna is quite the little dare devil!!! She absolutely LOVED when Matt would pull her around on the round tubey sled, the BIGGEST smile on her face! The kids got to build a snowman, throw snowballs, and get towed around the yard by Matt. Even our live-in weekend guest had fun in the snow :-) We are watching our neighbor's dog, Pugs, right now. Although I am defintiely not a fan of dogs, the kids are having a blast with him!

Jenna's First Snow!!!

2008-12-13T09:04:00.001-08:00

OK, so I have been LOVING watching the snow last night and this morning! It's not accumulating to much of course, but I have resolved to enjoy just merely watching it fall :-) Anywho, this is Jenna's first snow, so of course I had to get a picture of it!

McKinstry Winter Carnival

2008-12-10T22:18:00.001-08:00

The kids meeting Santa for the first time in 2008!

Jenna's first time meeting Santa EVER!
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Jenna getting her first face painting!

The lady did awesome, did it in like one second flat!
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YAY! Success!
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The Chow girls with their faces painted (I sure love my neices) :-)
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Juliana getting a candy cane on her arm.

"You always catch me on camera under compromising circumstances, Denise!"

(my previous boss, Mari, she's so awesome) :-)
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Mari's Christmas Tree

McKinstry provided Circus themed entertainment while we were eating dinner.
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A balancing act, they did great!
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McKinstry never ceases to amaze me with what they come up with next!
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Yet even MORE entertainment!
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She looks like a star :-)
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Jenna enjoyed the entertainment too, apparently!
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Jacob, Juliana and Gabe providing entertainment of their own!
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The boys chasing each other :-)
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Jacob finally decided to get a candy cane of his own.
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He sure is growin' up :-)

Just Catchin' Up!

2008-12-10T22:12:00.001-08:00

Jenna having fun at the "Empty House" (Papa Earnie's House)
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Juliana being silly at the "Empty House"
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Our real Christmas tree :-)
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Ol' Blue Eyes
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Jacob is SUCH a great big brother! Look how grown up he's gotten!
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I don't think she could be any more excited, do you???
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Jacob and Juliana putting together our cool new magnet set!
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We LOVE these new magnet sets! We have a snowman one too :-)
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All Done!

Fun With Juliana & Mommy!

2008-12-10T22:10:00.001-08:00

Family Pictures!

2008-12-06T20:31:00.001-08:00

We go to the Picture People once a year, always before Christmas, and today was the day! We now get to switch out all our family pictures that we proudly display all year round. We're excited to have Jenna in the pictures now, and Jacob has been itching to get new pictures so he won't have glasses on in them anymore!

And on a complete side-note, we are extremely THRILLED to say that we are done painting at Earnie's house!!! That has taken up soooo many weekends (and various other days), and we are SO ready to put that behind us! We have to go back to do a little clean up and a dump run, but overall the house looks great and we are SO happy to be done painting!!! What a HUGE project that was!

OK, back to the pictures :-)

Our 2008 Earnhardt Family Picture
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The Siblings: Juliana, Jacob & Jenna
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Jacob: What a stud!!! This is my new favorite picture of him!
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Juliana: As usual, being less than cooperative, but she's super cute!
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Jenna: Her first Christmas picture!
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She was MUCH more happy in this one ;-D

Mountain Hunters!

2008-12-05T21:39:00.000-08:00

Today was a beautiful day, wasn't it?!? All day yesterday I kept thinking to myself, "oh my goodness, it is SO nice outside, PERFECT weather for going up to the mountains to find a tree!" So today was the day!!! We headed up 410 as usual in search of this year's Christmas tree!

The kids were SO excited, to say the least! It's so fun as they're getting older and are really "getting it." We stopped at a beautiful clearing to look for a tree, didn't find one we were thrilled with, so we just took the opportunity to get a few family pictures before we continued our hunt. No snow yet, but that didn't make it any less fun, the kids had a blast, and boy was it cold!!!

Gave Jenna a bottle, walked around some more, drove and drove and drove...and drove...and finally as Jenna was crying, Juliana was sleeping, and Jacob said he wanted to stay in the car and sleep, Matt and I finally looked up "what about that one?" "sounds good", cut cut cut, throw it on the Jeep, one last picture, let's go while there's still an ounce of light outside! It was a very dark long ride home, but very peaceful. And as the bridge is still out on Maple Valley Hwy/Black Diamond Rd, we had to take another loooong detour, and ended up eating dinner at a Godfathers (yuuuuuummmmmy, and the kids were happy to get out of the car for a while). It was a long, but very fun, day! I'm so glad we do this annually, it's such a great tradition, full of wonderful memories and great pictures!!!

The kiddos piling into the Jeep.

Juliana posing for the camera.

Jenna's first time on our annual Christmas Tree Hunt!

Matt and the kids out on the hunt, he's such a great dad!

Juliana and Jacob, they're really growin' up!

Jacob being a silly pants :-)

Jenna's so sweet :-)

Juliana showing her muddy boots, and look at that amazing view behind her!

Matt and Jenna up in the mountains.

Matt helping Jacob cut Juliana's stick...Jenna's having fun!

Our annual family photo up in the mountains.

Another family photo up in the mountains.

A tree at last!!! Get it on the Jeep and let's go!

The kids are wiped out!!!

Larry helping carry our tree :-)

Look at that beautiful sky!!!

This Just In!!!

2008-11-30T19:17:00.000-08:00

Where to begin! First and foremost, Jacob has his first wiggly tooth!!! That's right, he'll be losing his first tooth soon! :-D

While Jacob is in the process of losing his teeth, Jenna is gaining teeth! A few days ago her second tooth popped through, YAY JENNA!!!

We have found a new way to bribe (or threaten!) our kids!!! ;-D Jacob keeps talking about how much he loves Santa Claus. He thinks that Santa is the only one that brings him presents (even though we keep telling him that Mom & Dad get him presents too). So I have been singing the song "He's making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty or nice, Santa Claus is coming to town!" He's really making that connection now, and we keep asking him if he's being naughty or nice. Well tonight Matt brought it to a whole new level! We were joking around about Jacob not doing something, and we said "What if Santa finds out???" So Matt picked up the phone and said "That's it, I'm calling Santa at the North Pole..." He pretended to talk with Santa, asked him what kind of cookies he'd like us to set out, asked if Jacob was on the nice or naughty list (meanwhile Jacob keeps looking back and forth between me and Matt, like what...is that real...oh my...), he got off the phone and said "Santa said you're on the naughty list, but he'll put you on the good list if you clean your room." He JUMPS UP, and runs upstairs while exclaiming "I gotta go clean my room!!!" :-D HA HA HA HA HA!!! (it wasn't even very messy, had like four things on the floor, and the rest was clean) I took a picture of him in his clean room and Matt said we'd email it to Santa. Jacob got really sad - "I don't know how!" Matt told him I'd do it for him, he was quite relieved :-) Anywho, cracked us up! Wahoo!!!

And lastly, Juliana brought down her treasure chest which had some hair stuff in it, including Easter bunny ears. Of course we needed to put them on Jenna :-) Just mixing up a few holidays in our house, no biggie!

Holiday Festivities!!!

2008-11-29T23:02:00.000-08:00

11/29 - Our bakers in training: Jacob and Juliana helping Daddy make crescent rolls!
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Jenna's first look at a Christmas tree
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I think she likes it!
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Jacob LOVING Santa Claus!!!
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Juliana loving Santa Claus too!

Jacob figuring out all the letters :-)
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Jacob hanging Christmas ornaments

Juliana hanging Christmas ornaments
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More ornaments :-)
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The finished product! Yeah, I didn't need to take a picture of the ENTIRE tree as there is just a "circle of ornaments" since they placed them all in the same area :-)

Juliana in a Santa Hat (and fishing medal)

Jacob made a WALL-E costume, I LOVE IT!!! (Daddy made the EVE)
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How cool is that?!?
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Thanksgiving at Grandpa & Grandma Hirst's House!

Juliana making her craft
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Aliya and Jacob making their crafts

OK, this is the last of my pictures...FOR NOW! :o) WHEW! It sure has been a fun and eventful couple of weeks! I'm not sure when we're heading up to the mountains to cut down our REAL Christmas tree, but our little fake one will tie us over in the meantime :-) Let the Christmas festivities begin!!!

A Couple More...

2008-11-29T23:01:00.001-08:00

11/24 - A pretty and quite "cool" Juliana
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11/25 - Jacob and Mommy having fun with the camera

Yeah, Like I'm Done!!!

2008-11-29T22:56:00.000-08:00

11/23 - Baby Shower Day!!!

Jenna with Grandma Hirst and Great Grandma Plute
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Karen about to open her gifts :-)
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Sweet Jenna in a pretty dress.
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Jenna cracking herself up :-)
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She's so funny :-)
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Siblings, Juliana and Jenna :-) They are really starting to bond since Jacob's in school, it's so neat to watch!

Yet Even More...

2008-11-29T22:45:00.000-08:00

11/22 - Jacob and the Awana Grand Prix car at church!

Second race day!!!

Matt throwing Juliana in the air at the pool party

Matt and a very happy Jacob and Juliana at the pool party.
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Kevin and his not-so-graceful dive.

Jimmy's turn!

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James' first jump!
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Abby's first jump!
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A very happy Abby after her first jump!

James jumping again

Ron "swimming" the waterwalk - ahh, good times :-)

Ahh, much better dive, Kevin!

Abby jumping again (I'm taking these for Karen who couldn't come due to sick kids) (and cuz I'm a proud auntie of course!)

Birthday boy, Austin, jumping to Kevin

Sweet Emma :-)

A very very hot Jenna!

More Pictures

2008-11-29T22:38:00.000-08:00

11/13 - Haven't been getting many pictures of Juliana lately :-)

11/21 - Left to right: Jacob's car (Phineas & Ferb), Matt's car (Thurdercats), Juliana's car (Tinkerbell)

11/21 - All three from the back.

11/21 - Jacob's super cool Phineas & Ferb car.

11/21 - Juliana on race day at church!

I Warned You!!!

2008-11-29T22:30:00.000-08:00

OK, I warned you! I am catching up on about 3 weeks worth of photos!!! I'm trying to narrow it down...but as Joey says, "It's a moo point." :o)

11/9 - Jenna having oodles of fun with her feet :-)

11/9 - Jacob and Juliana gettin' down to Nursery Rhymes on OnDemand!

11/9 - See??? This is how much fun they have when Jacob's been in school half the day... This last week of him being home all day every day has been the cause of much bickering! School must start back up again!!!

11/10 - Jenna getting closer to rolling over...if that other darn arm wouldn't get in the way all the time!

11/10 - Jenna lasts about a full minute now for Tummy Time...we're making progress...

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Twenty-Two

2008-11-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

What am I thankful for? I honestly have so much to be thankful for, so I thought I'd just ramble them all off! (and am including the rest of my family as well)

Jenna is thankful for:
(I will answer for her)

Bottles, blankies and her nice warm crib (she's napping)

Juliana is thankful for:

Her princess clock
Her Barbie Swan Lake movie
Dance class
Grandma & Grandpa
Thanksgiving
Tinkerbell
Disneyland
Balloons

Jacob is thankful for:

All of us to go at our home with Thanksgiving
For my friends
God
We have a good time with this Thanksgiving day
And that's it
Camping
All all ALL of this world and these planets and stars in my room and planets in my room too
I think that's it
Our cats and our babies and families
We gotta bring Aunt Karen's giraffe to Aunt Karen's house
My camera and the three telephones
My teacher and my teacher friends and everybody in my world
And that's enough.

Matt is thankful for:

My wife and kids
My church family
My friends
My work
Our van (amen to that!)
That my wife can stay home with our kids
For the grand parents
For God's grace
How smart Jacob, Juliana and Jenna are

Denise is thankful for:

Matt! He is an awesome husband and dad! We may not always see eye to eye or have the same methods to our madness, but we love each other and work past those things. He helps with house work, helps with the kids, is our financial provider (and loves his job!), is great with his neices and nephews, is a great son, son-in-law, brings more laughter into our home, is very caring, loves me and loves God!
Jenna finally doing SO much better! She is almost like a normal baby :-) She's so much happier and fun and the kids love her to pieces! She sleeps through the night, and is finally getting on a schedule, YAY!
Jacob is amazing, he brings so much joy to us! He is so bright, clever, sweet and kind-hearted.
Juliana brings SO much life to our house, her entire face smiles, and always bops to any music she hears! (not always at dance class of course...)
Showers! I may not get them real often, but I surely am VERY thankful for when I DO get them!
Hair straighteners! Where have you been all my life?!?
Bob, my van, he's the bomb diggity and has made traveling-life SO much easier and enjoyable!
My parents, they are SO wonderful to me, Matt and our kids. They are the most amazing parents and grandparents ever!!! They make and take the time to build nuturing relationships, and for that I am SO eternally thankful!
The Pumpkin Patch Crew! It's so nice to have a group of friends to talk with, laugh with, cry with, and simply have the most odd conversations with!!! And to know they're always there.
The Office :-) When Friends went off the air, Matt & I were utterly lost for comedic relief. And HA HA - The Office has definitely provided that! So to Michael Scott, Jim, Pam, Oscar, Meredith, Angela, Kevin, Kelly, Ryan, Stanley, Andy, Creed and even Dwight - THANK YOU! ;-D
For God being so compassionate and merciful! He knows every little thing about me, all my thoughts and fears, hopes and shortcomings, and yet always has open arms and ears for me.
The Bible! It has all the answers to the questions of life...if we'd only read it and take heed to it. An area I need to be better at!!!
And lastly, that this darn Thanksgiving series of blogs is finally OVER!!! 8-) Let's move on to Christmas, shall we?!?!? :-D

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Twenty-One

2008-11-26T22:53:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for play dates! I'm not the first mom to admit that you start to go stir-crazy as a stay-at-home-mom, and getting to talk with another adult is pure bliss!!! Today I play dated with Karen, and I tell ya, it was SO nice getting to talk with another adult and having your kids play with other kids! Although we still find that we can't get through an entire sentence...however we realized we can't do that even when there are no kids are around ;-D I think they have trained us to simply NOT speak an entire sentence as we're never given the chance, so our brains don't know how to do otherwise anymore! Oh well, one day, it'll come back...right???
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Anywho, thanks for having us over, Karen! The kids had a great time playing, and it was so nice getting to catch up a bit!!!

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Twenty

2008-11-25T15:14:00.000-08:00

Today I am thankful for moms who understand! Today my face has looked like this A LOT - >:-[ I don't know what the deal is, but my kids have been in rare form today, just getting on each other WAY more than normal, whining like crazy, whacking each other with things, you know the drill. I had thought about cancelling a play date this morning but hoped that maybe the change of pace would be enough to make them FORGET to act like that. Yeah, not really! They were definitely overall better than before Melissa arrived with her two youngest boys, but still did their thang. Juliana wouldn't let Evan help her with something, so while pulling it away she knocked over my full glass of Diet Coke all over the carpet...nice. Jacob almost stepped on Baby Matthew's head on the couch. Jacob whacked Evan with his alligator rain boot! Juliana threw a remote at Jacob. Jacob hit Juliana with a car. Jacob and Juliana just kept ticking each other off, definitely on purpose, which in turn caused more whining, etc.

They are all in bed now...yes, I even put Jacob to bed! I told him that he has been acting FAR too unacceptably and off to bed he goes!!! (of course, followed by more whining)

Melissa was sweet as ever, just took it in stride, she of course knows about days like this (days...weeks...months...years!). As I know you all will understand as well :-) Still drives me nuts though! And I'm looking forward to when they start getting along again...soon, right?!? :o)

My more humorous way of viewing how today has gone...

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Nineteen

2008-11-24T21:37:00.001-08:00

Man alive, you know what I'm thankful for?!? That this blogging series is almost done! 8-) I tell ya, I keep almost forgetting! And ya know, I keep not blogging about the stuff I'd normally blog about! I have about a kazillion pictures I would have normally posted by now, but they don't really go with the theme so I normally don't. (well that AND my screen is still messed up so doing anything with pictures is NO FUN these days)

Today I am thankful to have a day of rest :-) I did practically nothing all day, and it was great!!! I watched Wall-E with the kids, which we all loved (and I was pleasantly surprised by that, I didn't think I was going to like it very much). We built a nifty train track with Jacob's GeoTrax. Had lunch, played on the computer, harrassed Karen on Facebook (the kids helped me with that!), I laid down for a little bit (I have a cold, Matt just got one today too, bummer). Had homemade hamburgers and fries for dinner (yum). Then Jacob & I headed off to my parents house to drop off the chairs we borrowed for the baby shower, visited for a bit, then went grocery shopping for this week's festivities. It was so nice just hanging out with Jacob for a couple hours, we don't get much one-on-one time these days, so that was really nice! It will be an early-to-bed night, and for that I am thankful!

Oh yeah, AND I took the time to feed our squirrels today during lunch! I laid on the floor and took a picture of him grabbing a couple peanuts :-) Just a great laid-back day!!!

Mr. Squirrel eating a couple peanuts on our back slider.

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Eighteen

2008-11-23T20:04:00.001-08:00

I AM THANKFUL FOR LAUGHTER!!! OK, so it started yesterday when I was cleaning the house for the baby shower I was hosting today. I was getting all the kids stuff out of the first floor of our house, and as I pulled away a toy bin, I LAUGHED as I noticed a Littlest Pet Shop frog hanging on our wall! It had obviously fallen back behind the toy bin and gotten so smashed against the wall that it stuck there. It was so funny! It was just one of those unexpected things that makes you laugh, ya know?

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Then at Austin & Gabe's double-birthday pool party, it was more fun than anything to see what the ADULTS were doing! Funny flips off the diving board, and Matt pretending to be Spongebob Squarepants. :o)

And then Stephanie deciding to try to screw up a picture I was taking, but hey, that just means I'll post THAT instead! SO IN YOUR FACE, MISSY!!! ;-D

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Then today was the baby shower for my sister, and we had SO much fun! All of us who have been working on the shower have been desparately trying to keep it a secret that we've been working on a video for Karen, a video that shows why she's going to be a great mother of five. It has been SO fun taping it and putting it together, I swear it's going to have the best gag reel once I put it together! :-D But the actual video was a hit, it went off really well, and totally showed off Karen's crazine...I mean WONDERFULNESS!!! ;-D We laughed so much today, and I am so thankful for that!!! I don't have hardly any pictures from the shower, I was leaving that up to a couple other cameras. But trust me, lots of laughter!!! :-D

(added later) OK, well Stephanie just sent out pictures, so now I can add one of the Pumpkin Patch Crew at the baby shower! (yes, we all have John Deere shirts on! ...well except the guest of honor!)

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Seventeen

2008-11-22T23:01:00.000-08:00

I'm kinda in a daze right now...hmmm...let's see... I'd say that today I'm thankful that when you host shindigs at your house that it forces you to clean! Our house has taken quite the hit ever since Jenna was born, it's been hard to stay up on anything. But when you're planning to have a group of people over (especially a baby shower for your beloved sister whom you absolutely adore, so you clear most everything out of the bottom level of your house!), it prompts a deep clean that is so desparately needed! I am SO thankful to have a MUCH cleaner house today! So thank you, Karen, for having yet another baby!!! ;-D
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On a completely different note, I have SO many pictures of various events lately that I need to go through and post...so be forewarned...soon enough I will be posting a plethora of pix!!! :o)

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Sixteen

2008-11-21T23:02:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for weekends! Even though this is going to be an extremely busy weekend, it's just nice knowing that I'll have Matt home for a majority of the weekend to help out with kids, to have an ADULT to talk to, and just in general, it's nice having him home. Lots of fun stuff happens on the weekends! This weekend we had Awana Grand Prix tonight, again Saturday morning, double-birthday pool party Saturday afternoon, church/nursery duty Sunday morning, Karen's baby shower directly afterwards, and I had to say no to two other party invites for this weekend as well (which is hard to do!). And then just in general, we have a lot of cleaning and prep in between for the baby shower :-) So yeah, although beit a non-stop weekend, I am so thankful for weekends! Breaks you out of the norm, gives you a chance to be with other people, build lots of memories...so that said...LET'S PARTY!!!

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Fifteen

2008-11-20T23:23:00.001-08:00

I am thankful for the Pumpkin Patch Crew! We have been having so much fun putting Karen's Baby Shower together!!! The only bummer is that we can't include Karen in the planning :-( That's been really hard for me! She's normally the first person I call when I'm super excited about something, she's so great :-) OK, enough said, I don't want to say too much on this one!

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Fourteen

2008-11-19T23:08:00.000-08:00

The definite highlight of today was Jenna in the bath tub!!! Matt and the kids were at Awana, so it was pure undevoted time between Jenna and I, and oh my goodness was it ever cute! She can sit up just fine in the bath tub now, so she's completely free from anything getting in her way from having a good time. She'd smack her hands down against the water, and I'd excitedly respond "SPLISH SPLASH!!!" and she'd look up at me with the biggest smile and laugh and laugh!!! Again, and again, and again... It was by far the happiest I have EVER seen her!!! EVER! I wanted SO badly to go downstairs and grab my camera or camcorder to get it recorded in some way, but there's no way I could leave her in there of course. But that was a blessing as well because then I could just sit there and enjoy the time WITH her. (I sure wish I could have gotten it captured in some way though, SO CUTE!!!)

So that's what I'm most thankful for today, those precious moments that you hope to engrain in your mind and cherish for the rest of your life! Like fun in the tub :-)

On another note, Jacob's school pictures came today, and if I do say so myself, he is quite handsome! (wish he was smiling bigger, but that's OK!) The first thing he said when he pulled the picture packet out of his backpack was "I don't have any glasses on!" He is so proud to have his first "NO GLASSES" school picture!

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Thirteen

2008-11-18T23:41:00.001-08:00

I was just about to head to bed and realized "I haven't done my Thanksgiving blog yet!!!" And it's funny, first thing this morning I updated my Facebook to say "I'm still on a high from last night!" and was thinking I should have that be my thing I'm thankful for today, BUT figured I'd go ahead and let more of the day play out to see if something else trumped it (since it was only 7:00am!). And sure, there have been many good things that have happened today. I had fun baby shower shopping, the kids did relatively well, I very much enjoyed worship practice tonight, but I am still so very thankful for what a great time we had last night at FBC's Girlfriends Connection night! I was surrounded by great friends, great food, a great speaker on video, great entertainment...are you sensing a theme here??? I came home feeling so refreshed and on a total HIGH! And I was all the more happy to wake up this morning feeling the same way!

So here's a big Shout Out to Angie Swanson and the entire Women's Ministry Team at Faith Baptist! It was yet another event that exceeded my expectations! Thank you for all that you do (which is A LOT) to put those events together!!!

Here's a link to one form of entertainment the MOPS team provided last night, I thoroughly enjoyed it!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPLazPlyRz4

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Twelve

2008-11-17T15:49:00.000-08:00

OK, so I have to admit, it's a bit tiring trying to stay up on this on a daily basis! But I am grateful because it's making me take into account the good things that happen each day. I have to make myself sit back and think of all the things that have happened over the course of the day, and then narrow it down to one thing! Sometimes I go outside just the one thing a bit, like today, but there's still normally one thing that stands above the rest.

I am extremely grateful for Teachers! Today was my Parent/Teacher Conference with Jacob's teacher, Mrs. Dean. She is so nice and sweet, and very patient with the kids. Yet at the same time she is firm with what she asks of the kids and follows through. I am VERY grateful for that! That's exactly the way we treat our kids, and it is very helpful when their outside "parents" treat them in the same manner, especially during these first years of development. The areas that he has challenges in are all speech related, and she has taken notice of that (which I'm very grateful for!) and is trying to assist him in that area, help him grow in the areas he needs most. He excels acedemically, we are VERY proud of him for that! But what we as parents were most looking forward to this year were the further growth in his speech and social skills, and that is definitely happening! THANKS TO HIS TEACHER! So, Mrs. Dean, thank you so very much for being such an amazing, patient, and nuturing teacher to our son, Jacob!

On another note, Jenna turned 7 months today :-) So as always, I took her monthly growth picture next to her monkey. YAY JENNA!!!

Jenna's 7-month growth picture next to her monkey

Jenna getting her giggle on!

My mom got this "Baby's 1st Thanksgiving" outfit for Jenna, so it seemed fitting to have her wear it for her monthly growth pictures! Thank you, Mom!

And on yet ANOTHER note, Matt, Jacob & Juliana have all been working on their Awana Grand Prix cars for the tournaments this Friday and Saturday. They have cut them down into the shapes they each wanted, sanded them, and yesterday they painted them. They will be putting images on them and then a clear coat. Getting closer!

Matt and Jacob spray painting Jacob's car.
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From the other side.

. Juliana's turn, purple of course!

Time for Daddy to take over...
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And last but CERTAINLY not least, I am just SUPER EXCITED to see even the smallest snowflake in the 10-Day Forecast! Yes, I know, it's far to warm of a temperature and it's mixed with rain, BUT it's still there! That means it's getting closer to that time of year, WAHOO!!! Bring it on! :-D

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Eleven

2008-11-16T13:49:00.000-08:00

Well, I am exhausted, so very sore, stairs are my enemy today, and my house is a wreck. BUT I am soooo very thankful for Worship Service at church!!! It is SO revitalizing! I just soar when I'm enveloped in good strong true worship, when you can feel His presence, the music is loud and you can feel the beat, feel the words, feel the emotion and meaning behind what you're singing and proclaiming!!! We have a wonderful worship pastor at our church, great fellow worship leaders and band members, and this weekend in addition to all that we also got to have Mitch Bohanan lead worship with us from Texas. It was wonderful :-) It completely picked me up off my feet, made all my soreness and exhaustion go away, and I could just be in the moment. Now I'm back home, and I'm tired :-) BUT the songs will not leave my head ("Praises, to the God who saves us, through his blood he gave us life and now we come, Everyone!"). We introduced a couple new songs this morning, and also sang a couple of my favorites, so I was just on cloud nine!

We also got Jenna dedicated at church this morning, alongside my sister's newest addition, Baby Jonathan! We've had the privelege of having two sets of kids be dedicated together now (first was Jacob and Josiah) (sheesh, all these J names!). Jenna's life verse is:

Psalm 1:1-2 Lord, grant that Jenna would walk not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful, but that her delight will be in the law of the Lord, and on his law she’ll meditate day and night.

That's our hope and prayer for Jenna, and all our children, that they'd be EXCITED to learn about God, and on a daily basis, that they'd drink it in every chance they get and it would just fill their hearts and minds! (a good hope and prayer for myself as well!)

Anywho, so that's my Thanksgiving today, I'm thankful for wonderful worship music, that God allows us and wants us to do so, and that we serve such an Awesome God that is truly worthy of those praises!!!

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Ten

2008-11-15T21:13:00.001-08:00

I am soooo sore... What a long day of painting! (again) For the third weekend in a row, we've tackled more painting in Matt's Dad's house. It is quite the project! And I must admit, I was less than thrilled to spend yet another nice Saturday stuck in a house painting and being frustrated with my kids for not staying in the area we designated for them (which I feel bad about anyways!). ...well this is a downer, where's the thankfulness I'm supposed to be writing about?!?

Today I am thankful for my best friend, Lisa! She has helped us out both this Saturday AND last Saturday with this huge painting project!!! With her help, we were able to finish painting all the main areas of the house. We still have all the bedrooms, bathrooms and laundry room...BUT because she has graciously offered to help us, we have gotten the really hard parts out of the way! And we are truly thankful for her kindness and efforts! And it was nice in general just getting to hang out with her and chit chat, working with a friend makes the time go faster and makes it much more fun! (and the kids were thrilled to get to play with Gabe of course) :-) So THANK YOU, Lisa, we are so grateful for you and your friendship!!!

.Lisa & I at a bridal shower I think? Yeah, we rock the party :-)

Lisa & I all gussied up for a Chorus Line performance that we choreographed a song for.

Don't get me started on my bangs...do you realize how many times I fixed them that night???

This is one of many! We should have gone to tolo together,

we were practically a couple!

Lindbergh graduation night! C/O '95 ROCKS! WAHOO!!!

Lisa & I at the Space Needle...
the guys were there too, but who needs them in pictures, right???

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Nine

2008-11-14T19:29:00.000-08:00

I am thankful to have two kids who love making their baby sister smile. :-) Although at times they can be a bit TOO in-her-face, which sends her backwards until you hear a thud and a scream inevitably following...

Oh hold on, Christmas commercials!!! ...fa la la la la... OK, I may need to change my thing I'm thankful for! ;-D I can't help it, I love Christmas!!!

OK, back to my blog... I have been saved many times by Jacob especially who loves to tickle Jenna, give her toys, show her how to use them, give her snacks (one at a time!), actually cares about keeping choking hazards away from her, and so much more. Juliana is pretty darn good at it too, she likes to give her toys and get in her face...RIGHT in her face...see above for how that turns out! ;-) Anywho, they help me be able to get dinner on the table, get a load of laundry folded, dry my hair, you know the drill. So thank you to my kids who love their little sister.

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Eight

2008-11-13T14:40:00.000-08:00

Today I am especially excited to announce what I'm thankful for! I am thankful for milestones - such as Jenna cutting her first tooth today!!! HORRAY!!! :-D I've been checking her gums every day, figuring it's gotta pop through any day now, but little did I know that yesterday would FOR SURE be the last day that any of our kids would have a gummy smile ever again!!! (another last first)
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She wasn't the most cooperative when I was trying to get a picture of it ;-) Her darn tongue kept getting in the way...so by the time I finally got a picture, she wasn't the happiest baby in the world! Anywho, YAY!

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22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Seven

2008-11-12T20:25:00.000-08:00

Today I am thankful to have a back-up computer that works :-) Let's venture back, shall we? A few months back I noticed a thin line that ran along the right side of my laptop screen from the top of my screen to the bottom (like one pixel wide). I figured that meant my screen might be starting to go, but that I'd just live with it as long as I can still use it. Well today all of a sudden anything on my screen that has color now has pink lines streaking across my screen from it. Any white areas of my screen work dandy, colored sections...not so dandy. We called to find out how much a new screen for a 17" wide screen laptop would be, $300. Not so thankful for that! In the meantime though, I am VERY thankful for our big bertha tower computer that appears to be working just fine (knock on wood!).

Boohoo... :-(

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Six

2008-11-11T15:25:00.001-08:00

It's been a really good day! Jacob slept in until I woke him up at 8:50, Jenna slept in till about 8:00, and Juliana till about 7:15, so it was a slow-to-get-goin' kinda day, NICE! Got some laundry done, picked up a few things around the house, made some peanut butter cookies, and then Lisa & Gabe came over for a playdate! The kids had fun playing together and Lisa & I got to just sit back and chit chat, gotta love that! Now I'm buying some birthday and Christmas gifts on the Disney site, then we're having enchiladas for dinner (which I megacooked about a week ago, so no work involved in getting dinner ready today!), then off to worship practice tonight! What a great day!!! So I guess that's what I'm thankful for today, for days like this, days where things just go well and you can "enjoy" the day, "enjoy" your kids, "enjoy" your friends, "enjoy" your meals, "enjoy" some quiet time while the little ones are napping and the bigger one is having computer time, "enjoy" the stage of life you're in, and best of all "forget" about all the things you need to do. I am VERY thankful to enjoy today!

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Five

2008-11-10T19:52:00.001-08:00

Today I'm thankful for upbeat dance music! Matt came home to quite the sight tonight :o) I had turned on a Dance Music channel on Comcast, turned it up, and the kids were having a blast dancing like crazy while flicking the lights on and off! (in an otherwise completely dark house) It was definitely the highlight of our day, all three kids had smiles on their faces, all were movin' & groovin' (even Jenna!). And as always, Juliana enjoyed dance class this morning, which of course involves MORE dance music! So yes, today I am thankful for dance music :-)

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Four

2008-11-09T20:43:00.000-08:00

Let's see, I'd say that today what I'm most thankful for is our jogging stroller. Matt is currently training for yet another half-marathon, which makes him have to leave for a couple hours every weekend so he can go on a run. But with everything that's going on right now, there is MUCH getting pushed to the way-side in the Earnhardt home. So he was extremely gracious and put JACOB in the jogging stroller during his run today! The girls were napping, so this provided me the opportunity to actually get some stuff done around here. Jacob had a BLAST having one-on-one time with Matt, not a ton of running was actually done, but he still got some good ol' exercise. And his wife was very happy! Yes, I am very thankful for our jogging stroller (and Matt!).

A picture of Jacob in the jogger (left) when he was almost two

at Disneyland! (with best bud, Gabe) We've had it for about 4 years and

have continually been grateful for it through all three children!

(and will continue to be grateful for it for at least a few more years!!!)

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Three

2008-11-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

Hmmm...let's see, today I'm feeling thankful for Dayquil, paint rollers, baby wipes, Matt (for giving me a little break when I wasn't feeling well), McDonalds, DVD players, the Dollar Tree, a beautiful HUMUNGOUS yellow tree that was near my parents house today (it was GORGEOUS!)...but I'm thinking most of all right now I'm thankful for digital cameras! Jacob takes so many unique pictures, so many of them show nifty things at a fun angle I never would have even thought of. I'm thankful to be able to whip out a camera at a moment's notice and snap a shot to help preserve a memory. We have had so much fun with our digital camera and camcorder this week, I can't even begin to tell you! Here are just a few pictures from just this week...

Kyra, Abby and Maya partying hard at Azteca

Jacob and the girls runnin' with a walker
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Juliana showin' her moves for a less than thrilled Emma
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Jacob showing his true colors UpWords style.
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Jacob already working on passing on his letter fascination to Jenna.

Our three kiddos
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Happy Jenna in the high chair
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Juliana getting to hold teeny "Baby Jonovan"
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Mommy and Baby Jenna

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day Two

2008-11-07T14:10:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for Lysol Wipes. Yes indeed, I'm very very thankful for Lysol Disinfectant Wipes... Whether it be for the apple juice that Juliana spilled during lunch, or for the endless spit-up that Jenna is constantly blessing our floor with, or the latest today: Juliana pooping in her underwear, taking them off in the bathroom so her..."droppings"...landed on the toilet mat, she then proceeded to close the bathroom door which of course smeared the "droppings" in a big long stripe along the toilet mat, bathroom floor and my favorite, the front/back/underneath of the bathroom door. Yes, I am indeed very thankful for Lysol Wipes.

22 Days Of Thanksgiving: Day One

2008-11-06T08:53:00.000-08:00

Today I'm thankful to have a nice warm dry house to enter after standing in the rain with umpteen little kids crowded under my umbrella while waiting for the school bus.

Marie's Garden

2008-11-01T13:22:00.000-07:00

Matt's dad is selling their house in Kent and we'll be doing some projects to get it ready to sell. As we were going through the house today to create our task list, we found ourselves sad. I was sitting in the middle of the family room, house completely empty, and our kids were running around SO happy. They were thrilled to be running around in a house void of anything, a house they don't know, opening all the doors and exploring to their heart's content.
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Before we left our house to go there, Matt told them that we were going to Grandpa and Grandma's house, which of course to them means we're going to MY parent's house. I had to remind him to take it a step further and explain that it was HIS parent's house, and that actually no one lived there, it'd be an empty house. After Juliana had been running around in it so excitedly, she finally realized there was no one there. "Where's Grandma? Is she sleeping?" "No, honey, she doesn't live here anymore." She ran to the window which looks out at Marie's old garden, and she gasps and exclaims "I see Bamma! Look, right dare!"
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I felt like I was going to break down on the spot. As I looked at our three children in this empty house that they're having so much fun in, I came to the realization of how much MORE fun they'd be having if their "Grammy" were there, it made me sad. Sad to know that they'll never be able to play with her, read with her, get hugs from her, see the sparkle in her eye that only she possessed. They would have loved her so much!
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We are so extremely thankful to have my parents so close, they are absolutely in love with Grandpa and Grandma Hirst!!! They are constantly asking to go to their house and are overjoyed every time we round the corner into their driveway! And one day they will be all the more thankful when they realize that they were best friends with Earnie and Marie, and that they'll be able to share so many memories and teach them all about their Grammy.
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Jacob noticed some of the bricks in their back yard patio area were disarray and he promptly set to work trying to make it just right. I think Marie would have been overjoyed to know that Jacob was helping in her favorite spot, the garden area. When they asked again later where Grandpa and Grandma were, Matt told them that Grandpa lived by Disneyland and Grandma lived in Heaven. To which Juliana promptly replied "I want to go to Disneyland!" One day she'll realize how infinitely better Heaven is than Disneyland, but in the meantime Mommy would be more than happy to take her to Disneyland!
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Both sets of grandparents awaiting the birth

of their first co-grandchild, Jacob

Trick Or Treat!!!

2008-11-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

Who else is ready for Christmas?!?!? :-D When Spirit 105.3 was playing Christmas music yesterday, I was definitely wanting to tear down all our Halloween stuff and throw up our Christmas decorations! But OK, I guess I'll blog about Trick or Treating now...

The kids have been talking about when "Silly Uncle Ron" is going to come over in his costume, and as always, they stared :-) Jacob kept pointing out everything, "I like this...I like that...I like your stick..." And Juliana just kept staring. None of our kids got scared this year though, progress!

We trick or treated around the neighborhood, Jenna got to do two houses, and we walked her around with the other kids a little bit more until I headed back home to hand out candy and let her get out of her SUPER WARM costume.

Which leads me to my next point, what great weather we had!!! After it had been raining all day (waiting for the school bus was tons of fun earlier that day), and the forecast shows quite a bit of rain over the next 10 days, so we were pleasantly surprised to not deal with ANY rain that night! It wasn't even cold, how wonderful is that?!?
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As always, it was quite entertaining walking through the streets with a GIANT KISS character. Tons of...shall I say "that generation" (aka: parents) shout across the streets "YOUR COSTUME ROCKS!" "THAT'S AWESOME!!!" and my favorite, "I have GOT to get a picture taken with you, my buddy is the biggest KISS fan, he's gonna love this!" (4 times...)

Their last trick or treating of the night, OUR HOUSE! They got a little more candy to put in their buckets, then straight to the floor to count their candy and pick out what to eat. I found it quite funny that AGAIN Juliana chose to first eat a red lollipop - SAME AS LAST YEAR!!!

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They were a bit hyped up on candy, so they toned it down a bit by watching Beauty & The Beast while we visited with Ron's son & girlfriend. Then all the kids went down for bed and us adults hung out for a while and chit chatted...I love that... :-)

A Successful Halloween! Now on to Thanksgiving and Christmas, WAHOO!!!

Supergirl Saves The Day!!!

2008-10-30T21:37:00.000-07:00

More Halloween Fun!

2008-10-30T20:32:00.001-07:00

Tonight we went to a Halloween Carnival at Tahoma High School. The kids had SO much fun playing all the carnival games! They had putt putt golf, bowling, fishing, duck fishing, lots of basketball, lasso the bull, cake walk, all kinds of fun stuff!

This also gave us a great chance to take their Halloween Costume pictures before we left as we had a little extra time. I'm really happy with how they turned out, the kids being so darn cute sure helps ;-D And yes, I will most definitely be doing something with that "flying" picture...more to come!
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Crazy Hair Night!!!

2008-10-29T19:25:00.000-07:00

You have NO IDEA how excited I am to post this blog!!! It's "Crazy Hair Night" at Awana...I'll just leave it at that, and let the pictures tell you the rest! :-D

Dec The Halls!

2008-10-29T15:24:00.000-07:00

I know I spelled that wrong, it's a play on words, give me a break! ;-D Today Jacob and I "decorated the halls" with Halloween drawings (get it, "dec the halls"? I know...if only everyone were as witty as I!!!). I remembered that I had some Halloween/Thanksgiving types of decorations up in the rafters, so I got them down today and set some up before Jacob came home from school. Needless to say, he was so excited when he walked in the door and saw them! So after the girls went down today, Jacob and I went to work on creating drawings to hang on the walls. SO FUN! I enjoy craft time :-) (especially when it's just simply coloring and cutting...no paint or glue or gooey messy stuff to clean up!)

Also tonight at Awana is "Crazy Hair Night", so I painted Juliana's nails to give her a little more "spunk" to go with her hair tonight. I can't tell you how excited I am to do their hair tonight!!! I am POSITIVE you will see more pictures posted tonight!!!!! :-D Anywho, Juliana loves her dark blue nails with red and green glitter. Fun stuff, man!

Juliana LOVIN" her cool blue nails!
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She can be so sweet...when she wants to be ;-)
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"Can she be trusted, Mom???"

Dance, Jokes and Whoopin's!

2008-10-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

Jen was rather sly this morning and got the dance instructor to leave the door open. Way to go, Jen! :-D So I got to take a few pictures and some video, so funny! The girls were in rare form today (well, with exception of Emma, who is always right on track!). Two girls were constantly running around, giggling, and doing everything they weren't supposed to do. Juliana stuck with the teacher for the most part, however she is entranced with the mirror! Below you will find a link to a video I posted on YouTube. Funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcvjqdSVVvM

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Jacob has suddenly begun being fascinated by telling jokes, and tonight's really depicted Jacob to a T! Here it goes:

Why did the rabbit cross the road?

To go potty, drink water, and do some brainstorming!

HA HA HA HA!!! Does that not truly depict Jacob or what?!?!? Our little brainiac :-)

And last but certainly not least, Mommy has had it with Daddy breaking her precious dishes, so he has been banned...

The Last of Many

2008-10-27T15:46:00.000-07:00

Well today was a crazy day and I'm glad the bulk of it is over :-) We had Juliana's dance class this morning, raced home to get Jacob off the bus, do potties, redress Juliana non-ballerina style, ate lunch, fed Jenna, piled back in the car (with not a moment to spare), and went to Jacob's last eye appointment for a while! Went in for about a 5-minute appointment, hopped back in the car and headed home (with various baby naps and bottles mixed in here and there...boy am I glad she can hold her own bottle nowadays!). Kinda grates on you when you GO-GO-GO and drive 40 minutes each way for a measly little 5 minute appointment...BUT I'm of course glad we weren't in the doctor's office for a lengthy amount of time either!

The doctor is happy with Jacob's eyes, says he is seeing great without his glasses and they are aligning really well. We are to bring him back in for a follow-up appointment in 4 months. He says there's basically a 50/50 chance that his eye will go in (the brain trains itself to use the other eye more, and after surgery it can slowly start going back because the brain continues to use the other eye). If that's the case, he'll have to continue wearing the patch again, and quite possibly have to endure another surgery. Only time will tell. Please continue praying, we'd of course love to not have him go through all that again!

More to come, in FEBRUARY! No more appointments for a while, I'm soooo happy! :-D

A Mini Vacation!

2008-10-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

We missed out on a lot of the Summer because of a certain little baby we bore in April, so now we're desparately holding on to any remnants of good weather before it goes away! We did the beach a couple weeks ago, and today we went on a ferry ride! And oh my goodness, what a great day!!! The kids were ELATED to go on a big boat, I can't begin to tell you how many times they said "WE'RE ON A BOAT!" as I was taking their pictures :-)

After finally finding a free parking spot, we walked...and walked...and walked until we reached the Washington State Ferries pier where we boarded a ferry headed to Bainbridge Island. The kids were ecstatic! And immediately - "I have to go potty" "I have to go potty too" "So do I" (yes, one of those was of course Matt). So once everyone went potty, we gave Jenna a bottle, the boat departed and the kids loved watching us move away from land. My favorite part was watching the birds flying along side us! They just stayed right next to our window, it was so cool to watch! We went out front on the boat, Juliana did NOT like the massive wind, Jacob LOVED IT! I could hardly get him back inside.

We arrived at Bainbridge Island, packed us up and ventured onto the island. We walked into town in search of an ice cream treat! We found Mora Ice Creamery, super tasty ice cream, but man was it pricey... :o) We headed back towards the ferry, played in a park area for a bit, and boarded the next ferry back to Seattle. The kids went on the top deck for a while, Juliana did much better up there, it wasn't quite as windy on the way back. We piled back in the van, and Mommy & Daddy had a very peaceful ride home as ALL THREE children were fast asleep :-) Apparently all you have to do is make them walk about 3 miles throughout a day, after having fun at church :-) As soon as we pulled away, Jacob said he wanted to go back on the boat, and of course Juliana followed with a "EE TOO!"

As we were walking through the town, Matt and I both noticed at the same time how it felt like we were away on vacation. What a wonderful feeling! And so nice that it was at such a small price and so easy to do. We'll definitely do that again in the Spring, we're already looking forward to it!

What a great day, and perfect weather!!!

Party On!

2008-10-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

Jacob got invited to a classmate's Halloween Party and he had SO much fun! It turns out this classmate, Jordan, is a GIRL! (it starts) ;-) (we always think of those named "Jordan" as being a boy as our nephew's name is Jordan) Matt actually realized this when he called to RSVP, and said "Our son got an invitation to your son's Halloween party, and..." "...actually, Jordan is a girl..." He wanted to crawl in a hole at that point... ANYWHO, moving forward :-) Jordan was VERY excited to see Jacob when he arrived at the party today, she grabbed his hand and drug him into the party! They got to make various crafts, jump on the trampoline, chase their dogs around the yard, and eat MANY snacks and candy. The rooms were decorated with tons of balloons and Halloween decorations. The only thing that Jacob was bummed about was that Juliana and Mommy couldn't come (only Matt and Jacob went). It's neat watching Jacob grow, adapt and make friends. He sure is growing up!

On a different note, we had ordered a Little Mermaid costume for Juliana on Ebay a couple weeks back, and that JUST fell through on Friday (now that most the good costumes are gone!). So Mommy went back out last night to find her something else, and found a super cute Supergirl costume. I called Matt and had him look it up online, show Juliana, and she loved it, so in my cart it went :-) She looks SO cute in it! (you'll notice Jordan has the same costume in the above picture) I must say, Halloween sure is a fun holiday when you have little kids!!! :-) I can't wait for Trick-Or-Treating next week!!!

A Momentus Occasion!

2008-10-22T21:01:00.001-07:00

Yes, it was truly a momentus occasion today, Grandma handed off her final Earnhardt grandchild Christmas stocking! And the neat thing is that it was a stocking I had started years back and never completed, which means that we both had a hand in making Jenna's stocking. This year we'll have all five completed stockings for our completed family - how exciting! My mom made mine when I was a child, I made Matt's when we were married, my mom made Jacob and Juliana's, and now we have both completed Jenna's. I can't wait to put them all up! (and as many of you know, I have a hard time waiting to start decorating for Christmas, so I'm sure it won't be long!!!) ;-D

Jenna with her Christmas stocking from Grandma Hirst!

Jenna comfy during nap time at Grandma's house.

A super silly Jujubean

Mommy and daughter having some fun with the camera