off the mountain

on the move, yet again. this time, I'm ok with it.

I like this picture. it's kinda like us as we move our home to wherever we can carry it, only this time, we're selling everything and don't have even a shack full of stuff anymore.

it's kind of liberating. kind of scary too.

we are officially out of our mountain home. it sure is a beautiful place with a BEAUTIFUL view, but I will appreciate this mountain life more from the pictures on my calendar. it's nice, but not for us.

for now we are staying with friends, having Sam continue another month at school, as we have a garage sale every weekend to sell the remainder of our stuff. come May 1st, give or take a few days, we're going to Hawaii!!

for me/us, Hawaii is one of those things we'd always wonder "what if" if we didn't go. it's an adventure, and I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else other than my family. if I were still single, I'd probably still be struggling in CA to pay my bills, because honestly, I wouldn't know any different.
Hawaii will either be the best decision we've ever made, or the very worst one. either way, we will grow and change because of it.

sadly we will be losing the newest member of our family, Sarge. there is a loooooong story that goes along with that, so to make it short and sweet, he will be returning to his previous family.
our situation is changing somewhat unexpectedly to where it will be difficult to keep him, and "coincidentally," their situation has drastically changed unexpectedly and having Sarge back would help them; they have missed him terribly. Sam is happy to have the dog go back to his first family, knowing that they need him back. it could not have worked out better for everyone!

ever-changing

In the midst of change, I get attacked by my family. no one approves.

my christian family has nothing but encouraging, supportive words.

hhmmmm, coincidence? I think not.

before I was a believer, I too hated change. I was somehow taught that change = bad. you're out of your comfort zone, not fully knowing what will happen and when, less in control, and left with worry or anxiety about it.

here I am, 10 years in my walk now, and I have a comfort and peace that can only come from God. I still dislike change, but I've come to realize the value of change. and it really is valuable.

how can you grow without getting up from that comfort zone? the answer - you can't.

can you ever really have total control? the answer - not ever possible

why worry about tomorrow when it's not even here yet? the answer - just don't

when do you stop changing? is there a certain, special age that we mentally stop? now, I'm thinking of a person, such as myself, one that didn't grow up with God and without [most] of His teachings. what happened to me? somewhere along the way, I stopped learning and growing. as a child, I don't think you know you're growing spiritually, even though you are. now for my boys, having 2 believing parents, they may not know right this second, but as the years continue and they take in our wisdom [along with God's, of course] they have the foundation from the start; it's the format to never stop growing, never stop changing, and being able to look back and recognize it for what it really is. as an adult, I can see where God was in some areas of my life, but my foundation was in 2 non-believers, which ultimately skewed God's perspective in my life. it simply wasn't there.

so as far as Hawaii goes, we're in. the finances and the details are still being worked out, but as of now, we are going to go for it. and like I said, no one likes that we're doing this.

I wrote an email to my mother explaining our situation [again]. this time I think I got out what I wanted to say, with the right words. I lack the right ones more often than not, so mom, I'm glad you like this response ... and I hope you don't mind me sharing it. for any friends & family reading, I hope this helps you too. here it is:

In a way we are nomads, because we are still searching for the right place to call home. It’s one of those things you know when you get there. In another way, we are missionaries. As a christian, you do have a ministry and it goes wherever you do. But what if we were? With a church, traveling around the world? And yes kids would come too. I don’t think you’d be happy with that either.

My needs are met. My desires have been not met at times, but we are not in that place anymore. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that. Our marriage is healed, it’s been made whole again. We communicate, we trust each other, and we make decisions together.
God is our stability, and that is what we are teaching our boys. Where we live, how we get money is circumstancial. There is a bigger picture, and it’s so much bigger mom!! Think about it, what REALLY matters in life? For us, it’s God and each other, and what a bonus, we could live in paradise too.

So let me explain -
We have been talking and wanting to live greener, as in sustainable farming. Grow most of our food and get off “the system.” yes you could do that anywhere, but after visiting Hawaii we thought, wow everything will grow here and very easily too. In Colorado, it would take more effort. We would need more time for education, more money for greenhouses, even with a greenhouse there is still an off season to growing. In Hawaii, you start now and it never ends. No extra heating for the chickens. The cost of living out there is not extreme. Lots of agricultural land is available and not ridiculously expensive. So why not???? That’s the beauty of homeshool, the greatness of having flexibility, and the security in God to take care of us.

I appreciate you looking out for my best interests, that’s what a good parent does. However, you don’t see the world the same way I do. Until the day I die, or you die, I will continue to try and show you how God works. :)

brainstorming

a few favorite pictures from our trip. I think most of my regular readers are also with me on facebook; that's where you'll see more. enjoy.

it was definitely fun, stress-free, and even with the yucky weather, it was beautiful!

to Laura & Steve, thanks for your comments. it is interesting, isn't it?

for me, I am waiting on some kind of confirmation. one of those things that you can never know how it will be delivered, but once it is, you know it. I've always been a "glass is 1/2 empty" type, so I'm much more pessimistic and honestly, kind of a downer sometimes. for Matthew, he waits for a red flag. a confirmation NOT to go.

I do admire the day-by-day mentality, because tomorrow is not promised.

I believe that when you can see a pattern in your life, it's God trying to get through to you. in our case the pattern is apparent, but we're still missing the point. God has our attention ... now what? wait.

believe me, this is our ongoing conversation to try and figure it out. daily. it's kind of annoying.

does a pattern always have to be negative? what if God is preparing us for something bigger? we're definitely not the same people we were in CA, and look at how much change has come from these new environments. there has been tons of change in us, and I can't say I would even want to be that same person I was back then. I know I can safely say Matthew feels the same on that.

now would change still come without all this commotion? yes, but not sure if it would happen to the same degree. God can obviously bring change to anyone, anytime, anywhere, but He chooses to bring it in different forms, no? in a way we can hear Him, see His kingdom, and see where we fit into it.

what is amazing to me is that with all this change, all this moving, God has always created a way. for example, a job for Matt. not just any job, a job that pays well enough for me to continue to stay home with the boys, allowing me to do homeschool with Sam, and to be with Elliott. food in the fridge. roof over our heads, again, not just any roof, a house in good neighborhoods. not some little apartment with smaller utility bills and in a sketchy area. also something to note, our kids sleep good at night. they don't appear to be stressed, they are not continually [physically] sick, not stressed out, or depressed at all. in fact, Sam is behind in age but excelling in kindergarten. there is no evidence of worry or burdens on them.

our goal is to be stable and prosper spiritually, nothing else. having this mentality while this business is downsizing and looking like it might be the end, is flat out frustrating. knowing you have the right heart, with the right intention, and it still fails, is very discouraging.

it's a good thing Matthew and I are opposites. we were totally brought together to bring balance to each other, because when we're together we become the perfect person. :) that's how I like to think of it anyway!

if I was just like him, God only knows what kind of trouble we'd be in.

if he was just like me, we would probably be so boring, never going anywhere or doing anything.

God has a plan, and thankfully, it's bigger than what we see. we'd just screw it up!

around the world

aloha! back from Hawaii ... and of course missing it. hubby and I had a fun trip; we opted to play the way we wanted, instead the way kids would want. we did mostly touristy stuff, but it was still fun. we are the type of people to visit somewhere and do what they do, more to learn the culture then to just do stuff we can do at home. we tried to not be the typical tourist anyway, but it's hard not to take lots of pictures when you've never been there before.

I highly recommend every couple take a trip without kids! it did feel like we were dating again, going to do whatever, whenever. it was great.

our youngest is close to 2 years, so he was good to hang with gramma for the week. actually they both did great; I don't think the boys missed us too much.

if you know my husband, you know he's always thinking. before we got on the plane to come home, he's thinking and researching the cost of living in Hawaii, what he would do for work, where we would live ... "hypothetically" of course. :)

but let me just say how funny life works out the way it does, or rather, how God sets you up. let me explain - as it is here in CO, this business is somewhat fizzling out. not a complete failure (as past endevors have been) there are still some options, but nothing concrete. of course we need money to live, so something has to work out, right? he's doing what he does because it's a job, not because he loves it and is making it his life. being the entrepenuer he is, he always has ideas and there is never one that stands out.

as it sits, we cannot stay where we are. it was a mistake. to me, a big mistake because I seriously hate to move. I don't take it lightly at all, and I lose sleep over it. you'd think the amount of times we've moved, that I would be used to it, or not mind it at all, but on the contrary. I hate it. I hate it more now that we have kids. I don't know what it's suppose to be like for them; I moved only once as a kid when I was 9. but on the other hand I know that as long as we're together, focused on what God has for us, then the rest doesn't matter.

Since we've been married -

we started out in Mission Viejo, CA where we met

moved to San Clemente, CA because it was cheaper

moved to Newport Beach, CA because it was closer to his work at the car dealership and closer to my school for interior design

moved to NorCal in Portola, CA for a ministry his parents were starting

ministry fell through and since we were attending college in Reno, NV, we moved there

being full time students, we moved again to be much closer to the university in Reno, NV

I became pregnant with Samuel and out of the blue, we were contacted from a long-lost family member on Matt's side. his mother was heir to a piece of property back in Oroville, CA. she has been dead for sometime, so Matt was the next heir to it. it was free, and with a new baby coming, we couldn't say no.

here is where we starting having major marital problems. he stayed in Oroville, CA and I moved to Chico, CA. then he moved to Chico and we got back together. didn't work, so I moved out again in Chico. then we got back together for good, and so I moved into his Chico place.

are you following me? I'm not done yet.

real estate market crashed, so no more work. an opportunity presented itself back in SoCal with a friend, so off we went to Corona, CA. by this time, I was pregnant with Elliott.

this opportunity also crashed and burned, so with no money we had to lean on his parents and that means off to Colorado Springs, CO. lived with them until we got set up, finally got our own place, work fell through again, so back to his parents basement. his parents moved back to NorCal themselves, so we had to find something. God made a way and we moved to this house in Divide, CO. and here we are now, having to do it again.

we have been talking and researching areas to go to be "off the grid." we (when I say we, I mean Matthew. me too, but it doesn't bother me near as much.) do not want to be governed as much as the world has to be today. so many rules & regulations. so many stupid covenants. everywhere you turn there is something, so we want out. ideally we'd like to be more self sustaining, which means living more off the land. living in a home we've built, possibly an earthship. not being dependent on the government for anything, using solar energy for our electricity, having a well for water, having animals & gardens for food. a modern farm, if you will.

we were originally thinking Montana or Wyoming, but after visiting Hawaii we realize how much easier it would be to do what we want there. going north will have harsh winters, which we're discovering we aren't in love with the cold, plus the growing season is SO much shorter. we are not skiers or snowboarders, so winter is a hibernation period for us. boredom hits quickly, not to mention, it's so easy to gain weight since we're not doing much.

Oahu is the #1 tourist spot, as well as, 80% of Hawaii's residents live there. so if just the remaining 20% is spread throughout the other islands, that is much more suitable for us. Oahu was just like SoCal, traffic and all. we have a friend living on Kauai; he tells us Kauai is more for farming, more isolated and rural. for us, the Big Island would probably be best. there are still plenty of jobs but also remote areas for farming. lots of research yet to do.

we are realizing that work is just work, it's a way to make money. we're still waiting on God to really show us what we are to do, not just with this move, but overall in this life. yes we are a walking ministry, but we both seem to know that a focus is yet to come, like help feed the homeless, get heavily involved with a church, or whatever. waiting on God, just waiting. :) easier said than done.

I'm convinced that we need some kind of confirmation before doing this. a word from God in some way, shape, or form. I don't to get stuck in "the grass is always greener" mentality. we have to have more of a reason to do this than just wanting to do this.

of course I love the idea living there. to go snorkeling everyday with the kids, swimming with the fish & sea turtles ... which by the way I saw one while we were there; sooooo cool! if I'm doing homeschooling, then who cares where we're at. what an experience for us all, right?!

long post, sorry, I had to get this off my chest. pics to come soon.

leave me a comment and tell me what you think.

what you REALLY think, because considering our track record, we appear a bit crazy. but I also know, that to the world believers are crazy, so I can't rely on that aspect so much.

I am a big believer that actions speak louder than words and for whatever reason, we are in a season of discovering where we want to be, but more importantly, trying to discover where God wants us. with all our moves, there was always a good reason. this time we need God's reason. please pray for us, we need some clarity on this one!!

seatbelts

the other day Matthew and I each drove to town. as I was following him a cop got in between us and pulled him over. laughing at him, I pulled over too so we'd stay together. the cop came to me first, unsure of why I was there at all. so he came over, checked out the boys in the back, asked for my registration, and then asked me to pull in front of Matthew.

he then goes to Matthew and writes him a ticket for no seatbelt. he never wears his seatbelt, so its due time he gets busted for it. in CO it is not law to wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle, which drives him crazy! "so if you can legally unprotect yourself that way, then who cares if I wear my seatbelt?!"

then the cop comes back to my car and starts talking to Sam. turns out Sam had the lap part of the belt on but not the chest strap. guess what? I got a ticket for that! whatever. so he EVENTUALLY comes back with my information, my lovely ticket and I sign away.

do you have any idea how much a seatbelt ticket is? I always thought it was $20ish, for a first offense. $86.50!! as a family, we got 2 of those in a matter of 5 seconds. whatever!

jinx

like I said, change is ineveitable. for me, it's one of those bittersweet things.

originally we moved to Divide to get out of suburbia; it was a compromise before we got REALLY out, or "off the grid" as Matthew likes to call it. we both wanted out so bad. there is something about the cookie-cutter maze which makes up suburbia, that just really gets under our skin. back in September we were down to 2 places; 1 being in the historical downtown area & also close to Samuel's school, but then there was this other house (the one we're in now) that offered a bit more space than we needed, but really spectacular and literally in the forest. since the cost was the same, we opted for beauty than convenience. it's so gorgeous here, but I think we're discovering that we made a mistake.

this house is in an HOA ... which basically means you are not free to do whatever. granted we're not going to have our front yard filled with cars that don't run, but they seriously have some crazy rules. for instance, you cannot collect storm water (like to water your plants or whatever), you cannot have chickens (most people wouldn't care, but I could've had up to 10 in the in city. you'd think in the mountains it would be more flexible!), you cannot water your landscape, which also means you can't have gardens (which would be difficult anyway due to all the deer, but that's not the point) ... and that's all I can think of right now.

the other downer to living here is the distance from what our priorities are becoming. we knew Samuel's school was 40 minutes away, that's not really the problem. our fellowship with other believers have increased; before we just didn't know people to really connect with. we are more or less done with superficial, surface-y relationships, and honestly, we as a couple (ok it's really my husband!) is a difficult person to take. you either love him or hate him ... and I mean that in the best way possible. by not having friends, makes it real easy to think of just ourselves, but since we do, we have a need to be near these people. we are entering a season of serving, and not just because there is a conviction, it's a whole new level for us.

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak with him. Someone told him, "your mother and brother are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." he replied to him, "who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" pointing to his disciples, he said "here are my mother and my brothers. for whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." Matthew 12:46-50

so basically, the grass was greener on the other side. I think most things would've appeared greener, considering we were living in his parents' basement!

I forsee another move in our future ... but we all knew that was coming, didn't we?

Divide

I have lived here just a couple of weeks, but it feels like longer. I mean that in a good way. I love it here. this house feels like home already, and usually for me, that takes awhile to get. I pray God will keep us here for a long time ... I have learned to never say never, but also, never say forever. only God is forever; can I get an amen?!

since my camera is broken, I thought I'd google Divide, CO. here is what I got -

yep, this is exactly what it looks like. in fact, this looks identical to the road you have to take to get to my house. the clouds aren't usually so dark, maybe this winter as the storms are coming. but here in CO the clouds are always beautiful. if you are a cloud person, you would love it. I have discovered that about myself; I am always noticing the clouds. leaves me speechless most of the time.

that is Pikes Peak in the background, which is at 14,000 feet. our house is at 9,200 feet, so you want snow, come visit us! we are planning on lots of snowmen, ice skating (there is a pond behind our house!), shoveling, and sledding. of course if you come, you might get snowed in for a few days!

in and out of these woods are lots of elk. I've seen the females up close and they are huge. I'd say 3x the size of a doe. I've seen a buck from afar, and you can definitely tell, he's even bigger. it's truly amazing. I actually found an elk watching trip, it's 2 1/2 hours walking all around the picture above. I expect it to be pretty awesome!

feels good turning into a mountain girl. I promise to shower daily and still shave my legs!!

hurry up Tuesday

it's good to be back in Colorado! California is a great place to visit, but God willing, I don't ever want to live there again. I am thankful for the relationships I've gained, (especially my husband) but the hype of CA is not for me. my parents live out there, so I will be back ... someday.

it's almost fall in CO. the weather is so perfect right now. when fall really hits, wow. and especially from our new place, whew! I can't wait to see it myself. we will be surrounded by pines and aspens, with a view of a little lake and Pikes Peak. I will definitely post pictures. it will be a postcard.

our move date is by the 15th. the owners had it staged for showings, so they still have stuff to get out. I'm so anxious! each day closer to the 15th goes slower and slower. oh my goodness, will it ever get here?!

moving means -

the kids will finally stop fighting and getting into serious trouble. it's been a major headache!

we will be out of suburbia ... mostly. whoo hoo!

we can stop living out of suitcases

finally set-up our homeschooling stuff the right way

I have a major need to get organized - like nesting only I'm not pregnant

most of you know, we've moved around a lot. let's see we've been married 9 years; with all the ups and downs of our relationship, and whatever the other reasons are for moving, we done it a good 10 times now. I've got to say, this next place I believe we'll be at for awhile, God willing. hubby is setting up this business and he'll be starting his office literally out of the lower level of our home; he's already got staff and technicians, so he needs to stay put for all that. plus, this is as close to our desire as possible right now. one day we'd like to get a piece of land that has spring or well water, build a house, use solar power, grow food, etc "off the grid" as he like to say. with this house the one thing we have is the location, and that's good enough for now.

like I said, God willing!

CA

well, we're on the move again. not back to CA; same area of CO, just out of this particular house.
the bad news - hubby had to quit his job
some good news - hubby has begun his own business and so far, it's working!
more bad news - too late on rent to stay where we are. we had another garage sale to de-junk, then off into the in-laws basement. this also means we'll have to move it twice, again when we do move in somewhere else ... which SHOULD be when I get back home at the end of the month.
more good news - I'm thankful they're there!

I was nicely "sent" to CA to visit my family and friends while Matthew works on this business. missing your family when they're at home is hard and creates more pressure, missing your family while they're in another state is a bit easier to deal with. he needs to work 20 hours/day and feel guilt free about it. so here we are.
and I'm ok with hanging at the beach everyday!! I do miss it ... but I also know I do not want to live here again. it never did feel like home to me; I'm a WI girl. :)

SoCal is it's own little world, and you have to have money to survive. lots of it. to me, this place is just unrealistic. it feels fake. everyone has such a facade here, it's difficult to break through that to really get to know anyone. wonderful place to visit, and luckily we can, my parents will be here for the rest of their lives. for whatever reason, they love it here. I'm still kind of surprised I made it in 2008, but that's another story.

in a couple of weeks, we'll head up to NorCal. this place I love and miss, so I'm excited to visit. see you soon!!

if you have any fun and cheap ideas for fun, leave me a comment!

baby E

oh my sweet Elliott. I started weaning him a couple of weeks ago, and finally, today he went down for his morning nap without crying at all.
since birth he eats then sleeps; it's magic milk! but for these last couple weeks, he's gone to bed awake with a not-as-full belly. he would fight it, and cry, and scream. I normally go in 2-3 times to hold him and calm him down, probably every 10-15 minutes, but after 3 times it's time to cry it out! I'm convinced, there is no other method. you can't let them have ALL the control. I know many would disagree with me, but I seriously think you're asking for problems going into toddler years and beyond. you'll see. :)
so no crying today means he gets it. definitely a milestone.

and since I'm not nursing so much, he's starting to eat what we eat. he eats a lot, sometimes as much as his big brother! he hasn't had most dairy yet; he's tried eggs and a bit of my cottage cheese. he's now like a puppy begging for food whenever it's out. cute ... for now. :)

my baby will be 1 year old in a couple of weeks. wow! seriously, where did the time go?! it's bittersweet.
uh oh, I just thought of something ... are 1 year olds toddlers?

I'm very happy with my boys right now. with Elliott walking, Sam is able to play with him. it's so great to hear giggling in the other room, knowing their relationship is building upon this. they play hide and seek a lot (of course Sam is the one always hiding) and they like to play on the keyboard together and dance. seriously, Elliott dances ... ok he sways. he sways to everything, it's very cute and fun to watch.

pictures to come from his birthday, stay tuned.

my people

we're all from the mid-west, but moved to sunny, southern CA about 12 years ago.  my sister and I both met our hubby's there and eventually moved away.  she went back to WI and I went ... all over the place!!

my parents never ever want to see snow again and haven't owned a real winter jacket in years, but they took a chance and came out for a visit in March.  turns out they came the only beautiful week we've had in the entire 6 months we've been here; they lucked out!

we haven't all been together in years, at least 3.  seems strange to see "your people" everyday, then go years without.

so I set up pictures ... at Target of all places!  1 more reason for me to love Target!

fyi - the downside to their portrait studio is that it took 10 days to get them back.  so if you're in no rush, go for it!  you can get a coupon on their website too.

getting this done with my side of the family means we'll be getting one done of hubby's side of the family.  now if only our parents could get along long enough, we could get one big shot together ... simply not gonna happen.  guess I'll just have to put them right next to each other on the wall.  ha!

snowy Easter

in Colorado, mother nature is a little confused!  it has been snowing since I woke up this morning.  can you see the size of those snowflakes?!  they were huge!

 

I told Sam that the Easter Bunny, along with Santa Claus, 

shows up to help celebrate Jesus.  Santa gives us gifts in honor of Jesus' birth, just like the wise men gave gifts.  and the 

Easter Bunny hides eggs and gives gifts also to honor Jesus and the resurrection.

I do not know how a bunny and eggs got involved with Jesus.  do you?  somehow, Santa and Jesus work for me.

I don't mind playing the games that come along with holidays, just as long as they know the REAL reason too.

I sent Sam on a scavenger hunt, ending with his basket in the dryer!  I did a hunt last year too; it's a hit! all you do is cut out pictures from old magazines of things you have in your house.  for example, I found an apple, so in the fridge I put a few eggs and on one taped a picture of the next clue, which was a bookshelf.  so off to the bookshelf to find more eggs and the next clue, a picture of a toothbrush, so off to the bathroom ... you get the point.  here are the boys with all those plastic eggs.  I put jelly beans in some, pennies in some, and left others empty.  the fun is the hunt itself!

I also made a bunny cake.  last year's turned out much better (you'll just have to believe me on that one)

 but this one is recognizable ... right?  it was yummy none-the-less.

Happy Easter ... that is ... Happy Resurrection Day!!

bugs and butterflies

huge cockroaches. fascinatingly gross.

is that a word - fascinatingly?

Sam got to hold Rosie, the tarantula. I would only get this close to take the picture. Sam of course, has no fear. you can see him smiling; he said the hairy legs tickled his arm.

doesn't that just give you the heebie-geebies?!

a few hiding butterflies.
do you know butterflies only live about 2-4 weeks?!
I had no idea.



a pretty blue.



the Grimm kids ... minus 1.

in the butterfly room, they had lots of rotting fruit around.

they seem to like bananas.

2 of the kids with their gifts from the souvenir shop. Victoria got some cool Elton John type butterfly glasses and Sam picked out a huge sucker ... with a cricket inside. you can kind of see it here. they also had suckers with scorpions inside or for you chocolate lovers, you could get chocolate covered ants. yum yum!

on the way home Sam ate his sucker. he ate the head, I think to gross out his aunties, and then he didn't want anymore. guess it doesn't quite taste like chicken!

if you're ever in Denver, the Butterfly Pavilion is worth checking out.

good times!

'tis the season

we went to the downtown lights parade this weekend. sorry, no pictures of the floats. they were all kind of corny anyway. but as a parent, you do the majority of things for your kids - this night included. but let me tell you, it was fun being in the cold, sitting on frozen sidewalks, and fighting the crowds to save our awesome seats! we did get a free balloon, cocoa, and cookies from those hosting the event that night. that makes it all worth it, right?!
here is Papa and Elliott. I should've gotten another angle; when you look at Elliott, think Christmas Story. he had on one of those one-piece snowsuit things. it was too big for him, but it still looked like the kid in the movie who just couldn't move for anything. he was so warm and cozy in there; he ended up falling asleep during the parade.


Papa did Christmas lights this year. bad picture, I know. I couldn't find the night-time setting. anyway -
lights are so fun. if you squint, you can see our 10' snowman in our front yard. those blow-up things aren't too popular around here, so we get a lot of people slowing down for a look.
we just got our tree, so I'll have to add a picture of that another time.

I love poinsettia's. bright and bold red, yellow, and green. so Christmas-y. do yours ever live after the holidays? I water it and love it like my other plants, but it seems to have some internal clock and dies no later than the New Year. maybe I give it too much love. I have been known to kill plants doing that!

we're suppose to get lots of snow tonight and tomorrow. "it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go ..."

I hope the spirit of Christmas finds you all!

family fun

he's not a fan of flying

the Grimm's
since we're in CO, hubby was going for the mountain man look. ha!


Saturday morning cartoons
where am I going to sit?

brothers

Eli grabbed Sam's hair seconds after this - ouch!

tough Mr. Incredible

and

the cutest bumble bee

I couldn't get a very good picture. maybe I'll dress them up again so I can - I still have the costumes!

and last but not least - Sam's birthday.

he woke up and we stuck a party hat on him with a 'birthday boy' button. he was so excited to be 4!

I bought Sam new pants the other day. if I were to see just the pants, I'd say there is no way he'd fit into them. he is all legs.

since Elliott is 6 months, I had to update his wardrobe too. goodbye to those really really really cute newborn clothes.

*sigh*

my boys are growing ... and it's blowing my mind!

on the road again

now that our computers are set up and the camera cords are found, I can get on with this! ok, a little catching up to do ...

this is a shot I took out the sunroof while I was driving. I love clouds. do you know there is a national (or is it international?) cloud association? they have some very cool pictures!

the majority of the driving was through mountains. so cool. I've never been to the grand canyon, but the next few pictures is what I'd imagine it to be like.

this was HUGE!


I was driving behind this the whole way.



because I was driving behind the truck, I was only going 55 mph the whole way. after many hours of this, I got bored. so I got out my camera and this happened. I'll spare you the others I took ... I'm a dork.

here is the best shot I could get of our moving load. we filled a 26' truck, towed the pick-up with that filled too! like I said before, you're stuff begins to own you.

these shots remind me of some of the scenes from Forest Gump, when he was running.

"I just felt like running!"

I love that movie!

our CO beginning

sorry blogger friends. this should've been posted 2+weeks ago. I promise to get better at this!

so here is a picture from our drive to Colorado. I have others ... somewhere. this is on the side of the road in Utah someplace. don't the mountains look surreal?! being a Wisconsin girl, all mountains look like a movie backdrop or something. actually I'm from Illinois, so I'm used to seeing miles and miles of cornfields, not mountains. this was the ENTIRE trip - huge mountains, huge clouds, and just incredible views. it was a full 2-day drive (because we had to go just 55 mph) but it was worth it. sometimes it's hard for me to believe that there are beautiful places left in a world that can be so ugly. this other picture is of the same spot. we tried to set the timer on the camera, but hubby couldn't run into the shot fast enough. it was pretty funny to try though!

here is me and the kiddies; we're missing one, but I think she's the one taking the picture. but this is how the Grimm kids are - always happy, always hanging on you, um, I mean loving on you, and SO MUCH ENERGY! they're a fun group, no doubt. we stayed at my in-laws for a couple of weeks until our new place was ready. there were 5 kids total - can you imagine the frenetic energy?! it got CRAZY! I love all those kids ... but I'm happy to have my own space again. we are now less than a mile away from them, so we still see them often.

more of our new CO life to come!

silliness

don'tcha love Mac's?!

all in the family

so I sort of feel like a child again as we are temporarily living at my hubby's parents house.  even though I have my own children with me here, I still ask for permission about things.  funny and strange.

along with us (4 adults) are 5 children, and their ages are 9, 6, 4, 3, 5 mos.  someone always needs something, often one of them is crying, and if one has something, the rest must have it too.  it's a madhouse at times.

Elliott is too young to have a clue, but Sam has been surrounded by 3 girls and I'm beginning to see the effects of this.  now I don't know if it's these girls specifically, or if it's girls in general, but they whine constantly.  they seemed to have learned whining gets them what they want ... sugar and spice my ass!  Sam has picked up on that and if it's one thing I can't stand, it's whining!  so now, the girls whine and get what they want, Sam whines and he [eventually] gets in trouble.

of course he doesn't get it, even if you try to explain it to him ... which is another thing; with girls you can talk it out.  boys don't respond too well to that, unless is short, sweet, and to the point.  I'm always trying to think of good one or two liners for Sam to understand.  it's much harder than it sounds.

it's strange for me that my in-laws have 3 little girls; my hubby's sisters (1/2 sisters if you're wondering how it happened that way).  the Grimm's are definitely not your standard or normal family tree.  

so do I treat my in-laws more like peers - as in we're both parenting little children - or do I treat them as my parents - as in honor your mother and father (treat your in-laws as your own)?  I guess I'm having a hard time doing both.  even if they were my peers, I wouldn't know how to start that conversation - I don't agree with how your handle your kids.  to me, it seems the same as punishing other people's kids; it's just not allowed.

of course I love these girls.  Sam has a great time with them and of course they LOVE  the baby.  it'll be good for my boys to have these girls around.  they will be good friends, or rather, more like siblings than aunties.  it will be great that they get to grow up together.  one big happy family!

reminders of home

I don't know how many of you read this regularly ... but here's an update.

my family and I have moved to Colorado.  our time in California has ended, for many reasons, so we're here for a fresh start.  hubby's family is here in Colorado Springs, and we've invaded their home for a couple of weeks until our new house is available on November 1st.  we'll be renting in the same neighborhood, that way, we'll have babysitters!

the drive here was beautiful.  it took us a full 2 days, but we had to go 55-60 the whole way with our big u-haul.  Utah looks like you're driving through the Grand Canyon ... I've never actually been there (I want to go) but it looks just like the pictures I've seen.  I took some pictures during the drive, but I cannot post those until I get unpacked and find the battery charger for my camera.

we've been here just a few days and it feels good.  I grew up in Illinois and Wisconsin, so it feels good to be in the mid-west again.  there are little, subtle differences, but for me, it's meaningful in some way.

* coming in the fall, the leaves are changing colors.  I've forgotten how bright the colors can be, even different from northern California.  bright yellow, ruby reds, shades of orange; a few trees are naked already.  in fact, there was snow the night before last ... and it was still there this morning!  I'm glad to be in a place that will have 4 distinctive seasons again.

*  I've forgotten all about basements.  we've been looking at tons of houses lately, some have finished basements.  finished or not, they're so cool to have.  if for nothing else, extra storage, something California homes do not have!

* I was so sick of stucco houses.  that is all southern California has, and they all look the same.  at least here, people can choose COLOR siding if they want.  very few houses here are stucco.

* mid-west people love to decorate, not always done well, but it's overall more festive out here.  christmas should be cool.

* I know greed is a worldwide sin, but people are just so darn nice here.  there are places where greed is much more common ... like southern California.  there is just so many people there, so competition is constantly in the air.  it feels good to get away from that being the norm.

I'm sure there is more ... this is what I can think of for now.

when I get unpacked, I'll post pictures of our new surroundings.  stay tuned.