First Day of Swimming!

Last weekend the weather was beautiful! We had a going away party and a the hostess had a pool! What fun! The kids were pretty much prunes by the time they were done swimming! Riley said the cutest thing when we showed up and he saw all the cars parked around the house. He said "I didn't know we had this many friends." and Brian quickly responded "We don't...it's just hot and everyone wants to swim." Of course we know that is not true! We were so blessed by all of the people that came to wish us well! I joked that maybe we could have another party when we know when we are leaving for sure....any excuse to party is my motto!

Craft Time with Daddy!

This was Brian's first full week off of work. His last official day at Potlatch was May 16. Now he is Pastor Brian to us :o) He spent most of the week trying to figure out what to do with himself. He is such a structured guy and pretty much goes crazy if he is stuck at home more than 2 days in a row. He has decided that next week he is going to use an office at the church to work. He will be working on his business stuff as well as stuff for River City Church Missoula. As for now, we are not sure when we are moving. We thought we would be going by June 1st but God has different plans. We are in the process of learning how to hear Him and hear what His plans are for us and I am learning that they don't always look the same as our plans! So for now we wait in Lewiston for Him to tell us to go. For now, Brian has a little more time to spend with the kids. Earlier this week he got to sit down with Abby to paint. She was so pleased!

She's crafty...or at least aspires to be!

I can be a little crafty from time to time....most of the time I just don't have the time! However, one of my favorite things to do has been making end of the year teacher gifts. Especially because my friend Kelly takes gorgeous pictures of the kids at Cornerstone and then gives me copies to use in the gifts. So this year, I went down to CropPaperScissors (such a cute store) and got a few ideas for projects. And in typical Andrea fashion (procrastionation) I finished up the projects this morning. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. To give myself a little credit I actually started the project 3 weeks ago but just never got around to finishing. So I though I would share the pictures. The first was first for Riley's teacher. They (they being the "scrapbookers") call this an exploding box. I was first introduced to this project by my really crafty friend, Jamie B. She mad me a cute one of these a few years ago as a gift!



The second project is a chipboard purse. Who knew there was such a thing! I covered the outside and embellished it...it was trial and error and Jamie L. saved me from it looking like a Sesame Street character. Yes the purse looked like a character straight out of sesame street with 2 eyes, a nose and ribbons in it's hair but after some imagination and lot of laughs it turned out pretty cute! We also used the Cricuit to cut the lettering. Might have to get one of those for myself some day...how fun!

Hopefully the teachers will enjoy there new gifts! They were so much fun to make!

13 things I love about my husband!

"Marriage is not a noun; it's a verb. It isn't something you get. It's something you do. It's the way you love your partner every day!"

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, and always with the same person."

Today we are celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary. I can hardly believe it has been that long. Sometimes it seems like just yesterday we were getting married and heading off to Hawaii for our 15 day honeymoon! But here we are 13 years later! If you would have asked me when I met Brian almost 16 years ago, if I would have imagined my life like this I didn't have a big enough vision! God has blessed us in so many ways I can't even count! I do love my husband more each day although I may not always show it :o) Here are 13 things I love about him (one for each year of marriage so far!):

I LOVE:

1. The way he makes me laugh.
2. That he is such a good Daddy.
3. When he gets up with the kids in the morning.
4. That he gets along with my parents and doesn't mind spending time with them.
5. That he never criticizes me and always supports me (even when I am not being very smart)
6. That he loves the Lord with all of his heart, soul, mind and strength.
7. That he is so smart ~ most of the time :o)
8. That he is adventurous.
9. His biceps.
10. When he brings me flowers and buys me massages.
11. He talks to me on the phone even though he is not a phone person.
12. Our inside jokes.
13. How he loves me!

Bright Beginnings Class of 2008!

Abby and her teacher , Mrs. Dammarell

Abby and her teacher , Mrs. Williams

Abby and her best buddy ~ Sam

Abby and her friend Dorian

The Bright Beginnings Class of 2008!

Abby graduated from preschool tonight! It was a great ceremony full of singing, homemade graduating caps made out of bowls and construction paper and cute little diplomas. All week Abby has been asking when her "grajeeeeeayshen" is? It was so cute the way she would say it with an emphasis on the "eeee." She has one last day of class tomorrow and then she'll be done with preschool! I can't believe she is off to kindergarten next year! How quickly they grow!

Jordan's 8th Birthday!

Here are some more pictures from Jordan's birthday that I promised a few posts back. We had a great time at the movie theaters! The movie, Speed Racer, was a little questionable...why they have to throw profanity and scantily clad women into a PG movie is beyond me but the kids seemed to enjoy it and hopefully they didn't go home repeating the words and hand gestures. I think the kids had a great time all around...from cake and ice cream, unlimited refills on pop, a tour of the projection booth to the popcorn and a movie...it was a blast! Jordan even got to start the movie. It is amazing to see how the movie technology works. I also included a picture of Jordan on his actual birthday going to Zany's...his restaurant of choice, a picture of him with his new guitar and an example of the thank you cards I sent out. I love experimenting with photo cards...they fun and easy to personalize. I can't believe how quickly they grow....amazing!

Mother's Day 2008!

As I post these pictures, I reflect on how blessed my life is. 4 beautiful children and a wonderful husband and a God that loves me and gave His life for me and so many more blessings including great friends and family! I think it is easy to get caught up in the day to day and forget about the little and big blessings alike. Mother's Day 2008 was simple but still blessed and special! Although it did involve 2 trips to the Doctor for me it still turned out relaxing. The kids woke up and made me crepes with strawberries and cream cheese filling...yummo!! We went to church and then picked up a Papa Murphy's pizza so I didn't have to cook later. The kids rubbed my feet and Brian gave me a card with a certificate for a 1 hour massage....loved that! The doctors office brought a uncertain diagnosis about the rash on my arms and legs (probably Polymorphous light eruption (PMLE) which is basically and allergy to the sun) but they did offer a prescription which has since helped. Hope you all had a blessed day especially my mom and mom-in-law!

Jordan's guitar playing debut!

Here is Jordan's birthday present ~ an electric guitar. A few months ago we were at a friend's house who plays the guitar and he taught Jordan a few songs (or parts of songs.) He was impressed at how quickly Jordan picked them up. After that Jordan kept telling us he wanted a guitar for his birthday. So we decided to try to nurture the gift he has for music and gave in. Brian bought him an electric guitar because I guess it is a little smaller and easier to learn on. I would love to find someone in Missoula to give him lessons...he is so eager to learn. Anyway, the video is of him playing the songs he learned a few months ago. I think he is well on his way to becoming a rock star....especially with that hair!

Brock's singing debut!

I apologize for my off tune voice in the background! Brock will only sing if I sing along. He also likes to lip sync as you will see in the next video!

Just thought I would share the invitation that I made for Jordan's b-day party that we are having today. I love movie theater parties....just show up and everything is there for you. No running around getting cake, goody bags, etc. Anyway, we are watching Speed Racer so hopefully it's a cute movie. I'll post pictures of the party this week.

What am I worth??

With Mother's Day around the corner I decided to see how much I am worth as a mother. Salary.com has a Mom's Salary Wizard that is kind of fun. You just fill out how many hours you do each job and it tells you how much you are worth a year. You can also personalize it with your zip code so it reflects what others are making in your area. It is for both stay-at-home moms as well as working ones. Of course I know that the rewards of being a stay-at-home mom aren't monetary and the benefits are intangible...just thought it would be fun. Here is how my hours of work broke down.

Housekeeper	17.2
Day Care Center Teacher	16.5
Cook	11.5
Computer Operator	8
Laundry Machine Operator	8.1
Janitor	6.4
Facilities Manager	6.8
Chief Executive Officer	6.4
Van Driver	6.6
Psychologist	6.9
Interior Designer	2
Administrative Assistant	2
Event Planner	1
Bookkeeper	2
General Maintenance Worker	2
Groundskeeper	1
Nutritionist	1
Staff Nurse - RN	1
Plumber	0.5
Logistics Analyst	1
All Jobs Combined	107.9

Apparently I put in almost 108 hours a week or 15 hours a day which explains why I am so tired all of the time! And all totaled I am worth $125,964. WOW! That degree from WSU has sure paid off!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms reading this...stay-at-home and working alike! I know you are all worth hundreds of thousands a year as well!!

Happy 8th Birthday Jordan!

I can hardly believe Jordan is 8 today! It seems like just yesterday he was born! They grow up too quick! I found some old pictures to share...I am convinced that Brock is Jordan's twin born 6 1/2 years later!

Today he is celebrating with a donut and pop for breakfast...his choice! And then I will take cupcakes to his class. We we finish off the evening by going to dinner at the restaurant of his choice...he is still trying to decide where he wants to go. We have postponed his party until next week because he wanted to have a "Speed Racer" movie party and it is not out until the 9th. So next Monday we will go to the movie theater and celebrate with his friends. I love movie parties because they do everything for you...very easy! The only thing that we regret is not having our family here to celebrate with us...so for now here are some pics and I will post more after the party!!

Jordan after he walked into the shower stall fully dressed and turned it on!

Brock's twin...born 6 1/2 years earlier!

Apparantly he liked to wear girl shoes just like Brock does!


Jordan's first visit to Missoula

Where Jordan's love for fishing started!

So serious!


Jordan with his Mohawk!

Growing up before our eyes!