Thanks Clevelands and House Thoughts

Made me happy to look at these pictures again. So familar to see Sarah and I in pictures together, I have many from our York days. How strange to see us with all these kids in the picture too. Wish I could see you more often, Sarah! I love good friends.

Another strange picture to see - Kellen playing with Barbies. First time I've seen that.


I am up late cause I watched a stupid crime show. I don't want to go to bed cause I know it will keep bugging me. I vow to NEVER watch one again. Well, at least not when I'm home alone.

As to the request for new house pictures. I have none. You'll have to wait until September, as I am. I have not even wandered by that way to take a peek at it again. Maybe I'm in denial. As nice as it will be to have 1300 vs. 800 square feet, a dishwasher, fenced yard, and separate bedrooms for the kids - I am having a hard time thinking about leaving my home. I'm hoping that our house sells and the move goes smoothly and I can relax and enjoy making it our new home. If our house doesn't sell, and things are REALLY slow right now, I'm going to try be okay with that. Maybe we will learn a few lessons, perhaps about really budgeting. Maybe we need to be able to rent it to some people who really need a place. Maybe I need to learn to relax and trust more. I'll be patient.

Here's the kid update:

Kellen is still not working with me on the potty training. Today he took off his diaper and peed on the floor. In most other ways he has been listening very well. The other day he wouldn't leave the park when it was time to go. I told him if he listened now we would come back to the park after lunch. I counted to five (the magic number) and he didn't move. No park for the rest of the day. Now when I get to three he says "otay, mom" and quickly does what he's told. I count for a lot of things. He corrected me tonight when I called the baby Lanelle. No, mom Baby Nell. I asked, isn't her real name Lanelle. NO!

Lanelle is always full of smiles. And, she's making lots of cute noises, she eats very often, she poops lots - all the usual baby stuff. She's not sleeping very well lately - naps or nights, which I suppose is also usual. She's rolling lots both ways now - I guess that's the newest thing in her world. Lucky for her, she doesn't have to do much to be considered cute. She's considered cute and loved to pieces just because she is.

Randoms...

Here's some randoms from my life. It is 1:30 am so I am not planning on this being orderly or thought out at all.

• Loved going to Medora, ND. Especially seeing a bestest friend, Sarah and her family.
• Don't forget your birth certificates or passorts when travelling to the States.
• I have an amazing husband. We were already at his parents Friday night so we would only have to travel 4 hours to Medora on Saturday morning. At midnight when we realized the big mistake, he set the alarm for 4am and drove all the way home to get the needed ID.
• Have I mentioned or have you heard that we bought a bigger house. Doesn't feel real yet. I'll get excited when our house sells. It is so hard to be patient.
• The new house is just a few blocks away. It has a dishwasher and fenced yard - that's all I needed.
• I still worry and wonder if buying a bigger house is what we should be doing. (Ian would roll his eyes if he were reading this.)
• Obviously we are planning to stay in this town for a long time. It really feels like home now and I love it more all the time.
• I am loving the Memory Manager program from Creative Memories. I have stayed up way too late tonight, but I have a significant portion of my pictures organized now.
• I had a lot of fun helping out at the Gravelbourg VBS this week. I got called in to run the Games station at the last minute. It was great material - my job was a breeze even with no planning ahead on my part.
• I'm so tired, that's all I got.

Moose Jaw Children's Festival

It was well worth the drive to meet up with sisters Jenn and Sarina. Fun to be together. Fun to see the kids have lots of fun. I just loved the tiger faces. Kellen loved his first experience with cotton candy once he figured out what it was. Hope we get to go again next year.

House Stuff

You can't tell how badly the paint was peeling on our house in this picture. I promise it really wasn't pretty!
So here's the new improved place. We love it and wonder why we didn't fix it up a long time ago. We also love the new steps (Thanks, Justin!). I don't have to remember to skip the second step anymore that felt like it was going to let loose!

The kiddos

I see Kellen and Lanelle enjoying each other a lot lately and it makes me so happy. Kellen really likes holding her and does a pretty good job - although he has to be reminded not to give a choke hold. It's usually pretty short lived - and he says "too heavy, Mom!"

In their car seats they are often "talking" to each other. Amazing how much fun they have just with sounds. Kellen thinks it's so funny when she makes noises and I think his laughing and expressions keep her talking.
Lanelle is growing up so fast. She's so strong with her neck now and rolls around lots. She loves sitting in the bumbo chair and watching everything that's going on. She's usually happy unless she gets left alone for a minute. I love her personality and the way she smiles so quickly for anyone.

Kellen is such a fruit monster. He's always sneaking outside and into the strawberry patch. The other day he devoured half a mango before I caught him. He is loving summer and being outside and I'm used to him being really dirty all the time! He still takes time to read lots of books. We're enjoying the library a lot these days. His new favorite is about The Moose in the Garden!