first "REAL" haircuts

I am frugal so paying for a haircut just seemed like silliness for my boys, who look just as adorable with "buzz" cuts. But having a girl is totally different... she needs to have a stylish cut! ;o) I've been patiently waiting for her hair to grow so I could put it up in li'l piggies but I finally decided that it should just be cut into an A~line... so we had my friend, Luanna, come over for a haircut visit.
It was so cute to watch Savannah enjoy every moment of being pampered and doted on~ she's a true girley~girl in every way possible!AND lately, I've been wanting Noah to sport a "surfer dude" look, the only problem is I don't have a clue how to do these cuts. Having Lu over was a perfect way to get my younger 2 used to someone besides MOM to cut their straight, FINE "locks"!Silly, silly guy! His hair looks so much better!

special visit from great~grandparents!

My grandparents are up visiting Alaska for a couple weeks and we were happy to get to spend some sweet time with them the other night!I LOVE this one of Gram and Savannah~ it will be a keeper for SURE!
My grandma is a very talented pianist and singer so I just had to take a pic of her patiently teaching these 3 munchkins some of her fun piano tricks!

preschoolin' Noah

Noah LoVeS to do his preschool books and we LoVe watching him put so much effort iinto his work! He takes after his "Bapak" and "Momo" by using his tongue to help concentrate and work hard! Too cute!

TiNkEr ToY tOtS...

Tinker Toys are the new fav toy around here since Noah got them from GGGG at Christmas. Our boys love to create multiple swords while Sissy makes wands... oh the differences. But, you better watch out when her wand suddenly becomes a sword~ she's like Maid Marian! Parker recently ventured away from the swords when Great Grandpa Grindle came over and helped him create this ferris wheel! I love toys that teach our children how to be creative and follow directions and so does their architect GGGG!disclaimer: Back in 2008, I created this blog for 2 reasons; to keep my out~of~state family/friends in touch with our family and to keep a family journal that someday will be printed into a book. So, I know that some of these "keepsakes" may seem boring but they are things I want to have record of for our printed books! Hopefully, my posts never come across like I am boasting of our family's activities or children's achievements. OK, just had to make sure! hehe!

matchey~matchey

I recently dusted off my sewing machine, retaught myself how to thread the bobbin and read a pattern for the first time! It took awhile to do all those BUT I got a li'l domestic on all of you, emphasis on the word "li'l"! hehe! I bought fabric way back in the summer to make a cute apron. Then, I received a super adorable apron from my crafty sister for Christmas BUT since I already had my fabric... I just had to stick to my plan! It's not perfect like the one from my sister but it was very satisfying to make something from scratch! Once I got done, I had leftover fabric so I hodge~podged them together to create an apron for Savannah. She was so excited to see it in her Valentine's mailbox before we made TONZ of heart cookies with these new heart cookie cutters. Now, I have to get to the next project of using the extra fabric scraps to make a dress for Savannah's doll, Kit! Then, the 3 girls in this house will be matchey~matchey!

his 1st backcountry ski!

Parker was pumped to head up to Hatcher's Pass to "backcountry ski" for the first time with his dad. The hike and ski were short because it was rather frigid.


Kep was impressed with his little backcountry ski buddy and they look forward to many more outings.

Li'l Kicker brothers

Noah is a Li'l Kicker! Noah had 2 main reasons he was excited to turn 4~ he now gets to have 2 Children's Vitamins/day (it's a BIG deal here!!!) AND when our children turn 4 they get to pick their first sports class. So, it worked out perfectly that both boys could play Li'l Kickers on the same day, same time and same court! We sit in between their two classes and just laugh at the many differences between our 2 boys! Noah is such a charmer, he spends the first 5-10 minutes in a shy act and then spends the rest of the class... running hard~ giving us a thumbs up, kicking goals~ performing a little dance AND anything else that will make the class extra entertaining! Ha! Then, there's Parker... he is a true first born! He is always the first to complete every task and with perfection! He is quite the little natural soccer player. We are excited to see both of these boys in action on an outdoor soccer team this summer!Here's Noah being the silly boy with his "coach" Sofia!
Parker with his "coach" Morgan!
Parker practicing his trapping and dribbling skills~ he has had fun learning more skills/scrimmaging instead of just playing li'l games as he did in last year's class!

penpal Parker

Parker's first "best buddy" has always been Quaid Horsman! These two boys always called each other their best buddies even though they rarely played together. Quaid is such a super kid and we were happy they had eachother to be best buds with. But, his family moved away last year and that really bummed Parker to think that his best bud lived as far away as Tennessee. So, you can imagine when Parker got a letter from him last week, he was thrilled to learn the meaning of "penpal" and he wrote him back immediately. I love that he has a new excitement for writing and love that he can keep track of his "best buddy" the old~fashioned way. So, I will be keeping copies of all their letters in a little notebook for Parker to look back on his first penpal. Or, maybe they will be mainly for my enjoyment!?!

bull's eye

The boys love to go out and shoot with their dad. This was Parker's first bulls~eye poster! It cracks me up that this is the artwork decorating the front of my fridge. Most moms have pretty colorings and/or cute drawings on their refrigerators but I have a target poster... all because my son is very proud of his new skill! Totally worth it!

happiest day in a L~O~N~G time...

So, in efforts to be REAL and to share my JOY, here's to today's post! In my heart, I am honored to be a mom of three beautiful and healthy children BUT my thoughts and actions have become quite overwhelmed and frustrated with my children. I know I am blessed but it's difficult to feel blessed when the fussiness and whining of my younger 2, continues day after day. Unfortunately, I have gotten myself caught in the trap of complaining about my children and their actions. It's easy to get defeated which will lead me down the path of bitterness BUT I know it's more rewarding and difficult to forgive and continually show my children God's grace and love. In one of my most recent "insomniatic" nights, I felt a gentle nudge from God to put His attributes to action in my parenting. I love that I am a daughter of the One who; forgives, loves, is full of grace, teaches, is constant, protects, is kind... and the list goes on. I would love for Savannah to feel these same attributes as my daughter. I want all my children to see God's attributes in the way I mother them so they in turn will show them to others. Well, all that to say... that yesterday was a super happy day in our family! For some strange reason, Savannah and Noah spent most of their day laughing and there wasn't a whine or fuss ALL day. We went sledding and Savannah kept falling down and laughing, Kep and I would then exchange looks of shock... "did she really just laugh?" Now, those of you reading may think this to be normal but unfortunately, it is rare with these 2! Then, we came home and dinner was completely peaceful and we spent the rest of the night reading books or playing games with no other noises than pure JOY! Thank you Lord for the break~ it was refreshing!!!
Earlier, I found myself critiquing the day in order to make that happen every day but I was humbled to remember that my parenting frustrations are very similar to my relationship with the Lord. He too loves to see me putting His attributes in action but there are many days when I fail. He forgives me and loves me, time and time again! I am praying that God will keep showing me ways to show His grace to my children. I am ExTrEmElY blessed and I would love for my words and actions to show that to my children and others!