{WORS 2013} Iola Bump & Jump

The 2013 WORS race season has officially begun (albeit two weeks late since winter decided to invade spring...)!  A constant bed time prayer at our house is for bike races, so the kids were just as excited as their daddy for bike races to begin. 

We loaded up the van Saturday and, by loaded, I really mean loaded.  Taking a family of five anywhere is always an adventure!   There were three bikes, a jogging stroller, helmets, bike accessories, coolers filled with food, water bottles a plenty, diapers, wipes, coloring books, baby toys, one big "picnic" blanket, sunglasses, sunblock, a baby carrier, changes of clothes, and, of course, a roll of toilet paper...because you never know when you might need one.

Sunday morning, we finished packing our lunches and ate a big breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, fruit, and bacon (straight from the farmer's market - yum!).  The kids were so excited they asked pretty much every five seconds, "does the clock say it's time yet?".  When it was finally time to go, they practically leaped into the van and began singing a song about going to bike races.  To them, life is a musical and every adventure deserves a song.  It's just more fun that way!

The drive to the race was an hour and a half, so we left with plenty of time to get there so Ted could get ready, warm up, and line up for the start of the race.  About a half hour away, Oliver decided he was starving, so we made a quick stop at the "gas can" (aka: gas station according to Valerie-speak).  While I fed him, Ted took the big kids inside for a potty break, which seems insignificant unless you know how long and hard the road to potty training our 3 year old son has been.

We arrived at the bike race at the perfect timing to park right behind me sister who had just arrived with my niece to join us in cheering on our favorite racer.  We found a shady spot to set all our stuff and then made our way to the kids' race.  We were late for the official race, but they still got a chance to race each other around the kids' course and got a race medal to show off to daddy.  Almanzo, of course, proved just how much he is like daddy when he tried to forge his own path on the race course.  No tree or rock can stop him, because to be fast is what he likes!

After the kids' race, we made our way to the start of Ted's race, just in time to hear Don's countdown and watch them GOOOOOO!  It's always funny to watch how mesmerized the kids are at how fast they start their races.  It was hard to tear them away to go back to our spot along the race course! 

My sister and I spent the rest of the race keeping the babies from rolling down the hill and getting into the big kids' food - they sure keep us on our toes!  Valerie decided she did not like bugs and practically climbed on top of me every time she saw the tiniest little ant crawl on our blanket.  I had to explain to her that there will be bugs at bike races, because that's where they live.  Oh, that girl!  Almanzo, of course, is her knight in shining armor, squishing and removing every bug she squeals about.  Haha!

Ted finished 18th, which, contrary to what he might say, is a great start to race season and we were proud of his top 20 finish.  The kids were so excited to see him at the finish and show off their medals.  We made our way from the finish to the spaghetti feed for all the racers and the kids made sure to crowd around him so they could share his meal.  Our race day finished by watching Ted receive some WORS cash for finishing first in his age group and then packing up to head back home. 

All in all, it was a beautiful day and a great way to kick off the 2013 race season.  The kids have been asking every day this week when the next race is and we are excited for more adventures to come!

Project Life 2012: Weeks 48 - 50

November 25 - December 1



This was an emotionally draining week.  On Monday, I attended the funeral of a friend's newborn son, born the day after Oliver and on Friday, at MOPS, the pastor from Community Church spoke about hope in the midst of grieving as we all tried to process our friend's loss.  My kids, unfortunately, have experienced too many losses in their short life already and understand far more than we give them credit for.  During their play time, I often hear them talking about how great mommy got sick and died and one night, after talking about my friend's sick baby who died, Valerie was in tears.  She had the start of a cold and, as she coughed, she sobbed for daddy and gasped in between sobs, "I not want to die!"  We are grateful for the hope of heaven we are able to talk to our children about, but, still, the hard moments of life are so very hard to grasp, even as adults.  I took few photos this week, but instead stored up memories in my mind of precious moments spent simply living life with our little ones.  So, instead of a photo, I'm sharing a fun little video of our kids, because these are the moments that make the hard ones bearable. 

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December 2 - 8

This weekend, uncle Eric, aunt Laura, aunt Sarah, and cousin Danny came to visit and meet our Ollie.  Valerie and Almanzo had so much fun playing with cousin Danny, who quickly made himself right at home playing with their toys.  They made it just in time for lunch and then stayed for a couple hours to visit.  Oliver got plenty of cuddles with his aunt Sarah and aunt Laura and Almanzo had fun climbing all over uncle Eric.  We just wish they all lived closer so our visits weren't so few and far between!

The kids and I took a mini vacation this week to visit my sister, Kelly, and help her with Karli while she finished up her last semester of college classes.  The kids were so excited to have a sleep over with aunt Kelly and we loved having the extra time to spend with cousin Karli.  One of the nights we made a quick Target run with all four kids and then drove by the big lit up Christmas tree in the middle of downtown.  The kids were in awe of it.  On the way home from our visit, my mom met us to drop off some St. Nick's Day goodies for the kids.  I love that they still spoil us with little gifts like that. 

***

December 9 - 15

 

We finally put up the Christmas tree this weekend and the kids just love staring at the lights.  We don't really do Santa in our house, because we want to focus on the One who came as a baby lying in a manger.  We decided last year to give our kids three gifts each, just like the three gifts the wise men gave Jesus.  We have a Fisher Price nativity set my parents bought the kids a few years ago and it's so sweet listening to them talk about the baby Jesus.  When we sit down for a family meal, we light our advent wreath and talk about the nativity story.  I just love watching them soak up these truths and hear their hearts for the Lord already.

We spent the rest of the week wrapping gifts, packing for our trip to Michigan for Christmas, and making these fun ornaments.  The kids had so much fun painting the ornaments to give to their aunts, uncles, and grandparents.  It's a good thing I had washable paint, old t-shirts for paint smocks, and disposable table cloths, because they made quite a big mess!

Our week ended with a college graduation party for my sister, Kelly.  I'm so proud of how hard she worked to gracefully balance being both a mommy and student.  She is totally a rock star in my book!  My parents held an open house at their home after the graduation ceremony and we celebrated with a house full of family and friends.

Project Life 2012: Week 45 - 46

November 4 - 10

We visited my mom this week and it's always a good day when we see Gramma.  The kids made handprint turkeys and got spoiled as usual by Gramma.  We stayed for dinner and the kids were so excited when Pappi got home from work.  Oliver was getting a bit of a cold, so he was fussier than usual and I was glad to have my mom's help for the day.

We got out to vote this week for the presidential election.  We know it is a privilege to have our voice heard and spent time explaining why we vote to our kids, but it was funny listening to them process it.  Valerie said, "Mommy, Ollie almost pick up his head...so he can vote!"  Then, later, as we waited for the election results, I asked them who they thought would win the election.  Without skipping a beat, Valerie declared, "Daddy!"  My uncle John's response when I shared it on facebook was, "Romney and Obama wll both be giving their concession speeches in a few minutes. All hail President Ted!" Ha!  

I've been teaching the kids to use a scissors by giving them scraps of paper to cut and showing them how to hold it safely in their hands.  They could sit for hours cutting tiny pieces of paper into confetti.  Of course, I always supervise this activity and try to hide the scissors where they can't find it when they are done cutting.  But it was bound to happen sooner or later - Valerie got ahold of a scissors when I wasn't looking and cut her hair.  Thankfully it was only a little bit in the front and I was able to give her a cute shorter haircut to fix it.  She looks so grown up now!

Valerie and Almanzo absolutely adore their baby brother.  They love to watch him learn new things, yelling for me to hurry over anytime he even makes half a smile.  "Mommy, Ollie smile at me!"  He is the first one they kiss good night at bed time and he gets spoiled all day long with loads of hugs and kisses.  They beg to hold him and he just soaks up the attention.  He will lay on a blanket on the floor curiously watching them all day long and is trying so hard to move so he can play with them someday soon.  One day this week, Valerie declared to me, "Mommy, I not want Ollie grow up.  I want him stay our baby forever!"  And then my heart melted...

***

November 11 - 17

Photo by Julia Jean Photography

This weekend, a sweet girl from our church, Christine, did our yearly family photo shoot for Christmas cards.  She found the perfect indoor location at a local florist shop filled with Christmas poinsettias.  The kids know her well from Awana and babysitting, so she was able to capture the perfect photos of our sometimes shy kids.  I absolutely love the photo she captured of the three kids in their owl hats.  I still can hardly believe we have three kids - what a blessing!

My sister came for a visit with my niece this weekend too and the kids were so excited to see cousin Karli and aunt Kelly.  We had fun watching the two babies kick around and melt us with their smiles.  It has been so much fun sharing this part of my mothering journey with my sister and especially exciting to watch our kids grow up together.  Valerie could hardly wait to hold Karli and would have held her all day long if we let her.

This week, for Awana, everyone was supposed to dress up as an American hero.  I had no idea what to do until the day of and somehow managed to pull together the perfect costumes: Betsy Ross, Paul Bunyan, and Johnny Appleseed.  The funny thing is that Ted could almost pass as a lumberjack without trying, because he has several flannel shirts in his wardrobe that he wears often and it's not uncommon to see him wearing his socks hiked up over his pants.  Ha! 

I finally pulled out my old stash of Barbies I had saved for Valerie and she was completely in heaven.  We spent all afternoon setting up Barbie land in the basement and she just couldn't stop smiling about it.  I found a great deal on a mermaid Barbie from Target's online daily deals and somehow she figured it out before I had a chance to wrap it for Christmas.  "Mommy, when it's Christmas, I get a Barbie!"  When I asked her how she knew, she grinned and said, very slyly, "I see it in your closet..." 

Project Life 2012: Weeks 34 - 36

We are still working on recovering what photos we can and, since most of my daily photos are now taken on my phone using Instagram, most of the Project Life updates will now include Instagram photos.

August 19 - 25

Our poor computer...which is now holding all our files and photos hostage...

Lazy post vacation days call for lots of cuddling on the couch watching Netflix movies.

 

 Big girl helped push her brother during our early evening shopping excursion to find the perfect going home outfit for little brother.

 We finally found the perfect going home outfit for our littlest peanut.

 33 weeks baby bump

 He insisted on mommy cuddles...and how could I resist?

It amazes me how quickly our kids can figure out the latest technology.  Almanzo was having so much fun playing a matching game on grandma's Kindle.

Bath time saves the day every single time!

So excited to spend time with this sweet momma!

My sweet parents, who just celebrated their 31st anniversary...and are still very much in love.

Our week started out on a major downer - our computer completely crashed, with all our files and photos.  I was literally in tears, but, thankfully, I have photos saved from blogging, facebook, and photo websites I use often.  We've been using the laptop my dad fixed up for us for the time being and have already ordered a new external hard drive to backup our files in the future.  Lesson learned: always back up photos and files in more than one location.  And, if your external hard drive breaks, buy a new one immediately, before your computer has a chance to crash too.

We've also been slowly getting ready for our littlest peanut's arrival.  The kids helped me pick out a going home outfit for him on one of our shopping excursions.  We are also getting excited for my sister's baby to arrive, any day now.  We thought she would make an appearance this week, but she decided it was much more comfy to stay in her mommy's womb for a little longer.  We can hardly wait to watch these two little ones grow up together!

Saturday, we headed to my parents' house to stay overnight before another bike race.  Ted blessed me with the night off, so I was able to join my parents and my brothers at a wedding reception for one of our childhood friends.  It was so much fun to reconnect with the Jacobs family, a family of five kids just like ours who spent a lot of time with us when we were all younger.  I especially enjoyed reconnecting with Corey and his wife, Laura.  Laura and I became Facebook friends when her son was just a newborn and this was our second time meeting in person.  It's funny that it took Facebook to make us friends, when I grew up with her husband, because she has been such a blessing to me. 

***

August 26 - September 1

 There is not much sweeter than wake up to this little man curled up next to me in bed.

Four years old...going on fourteen.  Seriously, this girl is a hoot!

The kids enjoyed a fun play date with friends during my eye doctor appointment today.

 I just love watching the man I love read from the "God book" and pray with the kids every night before bed.  It melts my heart every time.

She is quickly becoming my big helper.  She wanted a drink of water, so she climbed up on a stool, found a cup, added some ice, and then filled it up with just the right amount of water.  I can't get over how fast she is growing!

I just love this photo of my little man reaching up to me with full view of his littlest brother still snug and safe in mommy's womb.  I am blessed.

Daddy and his little man - I just love these two.

Miss V helping aunt "Seda" cook dinner at my parents' house.

This week started out with a bike race, but the rain kept the kids and I from cheering on our favorite mountain biker.  Instead, we spent the day at my parent's house and the kids soaked up the extra attention from Gramma and Pappi.  My parents are slowly making my grandparents' home their home and it's exciting to see the changes they are making.

The kids kept me entertained all week with their silliness.  They are growing so quickly these days.  Valerie is learning to write and recognize her letters and is just so eager to learn new things.  She is also our little drama queen; all of life is her stage!  Almanzo is all about "I do myself" lately, which often exhibits itself in plain stubbornness.  We are in the process of potty training, but it's a long process.  The only time he seems to be willing to actually use the potty is when we let him run around the house naked.  The moment we put a diaper or underwear on him, he doesn't want anything to do with the potty.

Ted has made a routine of reading to the kids before bed from a kids' devotional bible we have.  It's so sweet to hear them talk about Jesus and even sing songs about Him throughout the day.  They always take turns praying with daddy and I love hearing what they ask to pray about.  Almanzo always asks to pray for a bike race and Valerie remembers to pray for her littlest brother to be healthy and safe.  Then, before they crawl into bed, they both make sure to kiss my growing belly and say goodnight to their baby brother.  It melts my heart every time!

***

September 2 - 8 

Meeting our sweet niece...and we already love her so much!

Our afternoon snack is often a homemade smoothie (almond milk, peanut butter, fruit, and a touch of honey) and the kids get just a little bit excited when it's smoothie time!

First night of a new year of Awana and Almanzo made his debut as a Puggle this year.

35 week baby bump

My sister has been sending us photo updates of sweet Karli and we just can't get enough of her!

Like father, like daughter - our engineer in training doing a little bedtime reading. 

According to Valerie, a girl can never have too many pairs of shoes.  These are her new sparkly church shoes and she can hardly wait to wear them!

Our niece, Karli, decided to make her appearance this week and it was the perfect start to a new month.  We spent our Memorial Day meeting her and falling in love with every perfectly and wonderfully made piece of her.  The kids haven't had a chance to actually meet her yet, because hospital policy prohibited young children from coming into the recovery rooms, but they love seeing pictures of her and talk about her often.  We can hardly wait for them to finally meet her and for her to be joined by our littlest peanut soon.

The excitement of our niece's arrival put me in full on nesting mode.  I spent the rest of the week working on freezer meals and getting everything ready for baby.  Valerie and Almanzo are getting so excited to meet him.  They ask often when he's going to be here and Valerie said, "I want to meet him now!".

This week was also the start of a new year of Awana.  Valerie began her second year of Cubbies and Almanzo began his very first year of Awana as a Puggle.  They were so excited and talked about it all day.  Valerie was so sweet, telling Almanzo how fun it would be and helping to calm his nerves as we drove there.  He was a little shy when we first arrived, but by the time we picked him up he was all smiles and excited to tell us about his class.  I just can't get over how fast they are growing!