What would you say?

Yesterday during Lilyanah's nap I raked about half of one of our 3 yards. Our house in the middle of our property so yes we have a large front & a large back as well as one medium & one small side yard. So, knowing that yesterday was going to be the only day without rain for at least a couple of days I thought I should get to taking another fall picture of the girls. Of course last year it was just an 8 month old Lilyanah but I loved the pictures so much that I wanted to do it again this year with both the girls. I thought I'd include a couple of pictures from that venture. Ironically it was Lilyanah who wouldn't fully cooperate during our little photo shoot. (Thank you mom for the help!) Unfortunately, the lighting wasn't quite right & apparently the weather forecasters are changing their predictions drastically so it may be nice the rest of the next week & I may get another chance at a photo shoot.
On a totally different subject; last night I heard the question posed, if you could go back in time & tell yourself something, what would it be? I was intrigued by the question. Would I try to change a relationship? Avoid one, start one, end one, try to salvage one? Would I try to change a decision I made, avoid an accident? Or would I try to help someone else? Like I said, interesting thought. .. If any of you feel like sharing what you think you would do of course I'd be interested in reading about it! Love you all! ~Wendy.

She's Sick & He's Off. . .

Will left about 5 minutes ago for his first official day of work. I almost took a picture but he was in quite a hurry so I refrained! I thought we were going to be done with being sick for awhile but it hit again Friday. Our poor, sweet Lilyanah has an awful cough & nearly constantly runny nose. I put a picture on here from around 11pm last night. The last two nights she's gone to sleep & woken herself up about 3 hours later coughing. Will took care of her on Saturday night, it was really cute actually. He took the humidifier out in the living room & set up a fort around the armoire where the tv is so Lilyanah could get the benefits of the humidifier & watch her favorite cartoon, Veggie Tales. Have I told you she sings a line of the chorus. . . When I say sing the words, I mean that somewhat loosely. Though the melody is definitely recognizable. Anyway, last night we ended up outside to try to ease her cough. Will & Lilyanah cuddled up on the hammock with a blanket under & a blanket over to try to keep warm. What's crazy is that in the post titled "That Guy" the picture of Will & Lilyanah was taken last fall/winter when she had a 'croup-y' cough. So, of course I had to take a picture of them this year too. Lilyanah looks like she was happy, but that wasn't the case the entire time. I think she just felt like she escaped sleep since she got to get up in the middle of the night! I cuddled with her & prayed over her for healing for awhile. Mom & I were talking yesterday about how little kiddos cuddle after they start to crawl & even less after they start to walk. Lilyanah likes cuddling when she's hurt, tired, sick, or uncomfortable in her surroundings. So, while Ethne still can't help but cuddle I'm going to enjoy every minute!
So, I've been meaning to get a picture of Ethne in this little outfit for awhile to post on this blog. It is my FAVORITE little sleeper that someone got for Lilyanah. It's from Baby Gap, is lined, has dolphins & fish for a pattern & has a matching little hat. A couple of days ago when I took that picture is the last time I'll try stuffing her little body into it! She's too long these days!!!! Have I said lately that our girls are growing up way too quickly!!!??? So, I'm wondering if any of you sweet people are the one who got Lilyanah the little sleeper that Ethne is wearing? I check out Baby Gap online a lot to see if they have any lined sleepers & haven't been able to find ANY! Anyway, there's one other subject I'm trying to do some detective work on that one of you may have a suggestion on.
I, with the help of my sweet mother-in-law, have begun a collection of Krinkles for Lilyanah, she gets a Krinkles ornament each year. . . I know I wrote about this last Christmas. Anyway, I'm trying to decide what to do for Ethne. So, I'm wondering if any of you have any suggestions? Well, it's time for me to sign off, I hope you all are having a wonderful Monday!. . . Can you believe it's suppose to hit 70 degrees tomorrow!!! YIPPEE! Love you all! ~Wendy.

Will's First Unofficial Day

Will's last day at his 'old' job was yesterday. We were suppose to have a couple of days off as his first official day at his new job is on Monday but my overachieving husband is on his way as I'm typing to Salem to attend some kind of regional meeting. It's a good opportunity for him to get to meet fellow workers & looks good for him to go in when he isn't required to. I can respect that, but selfishly I wish he was home spending a day with me & the girls. As it is, this instead will be my first time going to ladies Bible Class at church for awhile. And, child dependent, to go to ladies craft day again. Maybe I'll actually get something done, though doubtful since I'll have both the girls. Isn't it amazing how much time kiddos take? I'm not complaining, I am loving EVERY minute. It's going way too fast for my taste. Yesterday Lilyanah was 21 months old & in just 9 more days Ethne will hit 4 months!!!!!!
So, for the last couple of weeks my amazing, wonderful, sweet cousin Laura & I have been getting up at 5:15 am to get our exercising groove on. For the first week Ethne would wake up when I left & I'd come home 45 minutes later to my fabulous husband bouncing her trying to get her to go back to sleep. She's finally use to mommy leaving & will now stay asleep. It's nice, because I was starting to feel really bad that he was having to wake up so much earlier than he really needed to. I find that the hardest time to cope with getting up at 5 in the morning is ironically not in the morning but the night before when I'm drifting off to sleep at 11pm. I keep telling myself I've got to get to bed earlier but to no avail. This is sadly the first morning I haven't crawled back in bed to try to get some more sleep. Honestly I just waste an hour laying there trying to wind down & end up getting about a half hour before Lilyanah wakes up. I heard something on Oprah lately (yes, I'm an Oprah show fan), that has inspired me to shake up my life a bit. . . A lady who took much more extensive measures than I, said that she looked at her life & realized it didn't reflect who she was. Pretty profound I think, don't you? I realized that I could honestly say that exact same thing for the most part & that's not okay to me. I'm not gonna pack up & go to the other side of the world or anything (like she did), but will get up substantially earlier than usual & take some time to reacquaint myself with my Bible & our Lord, to take care of my spirit & body than so be it. And I have chosen all of you, my faithful friends & readers to help hold me accountable. You don't have to call me at 5 in the morning or anything, just letting you know about it is accountability to me.
I hear a little voice on the monitor & I'm pretty sure she isn't talking in her sleep so let me close by explaining a couple of the pictures. This past Tuesday we & the Kronewitter family had our first 'family night' together. Laura & I decided it was ridiculous that we live so close & get together with our kids so rarely. So, every Tuesday we're going to switch off houses & get together to let the girls play, have dinner & then go to the family story time at the local library. This Tuesday it was at our home & we spent so much time making the yummiest chicken nuggets EVER from scratch (from a recipe out of the Deceptively Delicious book by Jessica Seinfield) & decided not to stress to try to get to the library. Next week will prep better & get it all done. Anyway, I took some pictures to document the event. Lilyanah had a really hard time at first sharing things (DRAMA!) but as the night wore on she adjusted & had a great time playing with her cousin Violet especially. It was pretty much Lilyanah & Hazel following Violet around. . . Good times!!! The other picture which looks like Will was thinking "Wendy, I've got to get out the door, hurry up with the picture taking!!!" is of him about to walk out the door on his first unofficial day of work at Waste Connections. So, I want to leave you with a couple of questions. . . Does your life reflect you? Deep I know, but I think we need to get deep sometimes so we don't just go through the motions & lose ourselves in the process. You can get as detailed in your comment as you want, I always love reading about your lives in the comments & in your blogs for those of you who do that! I love you all!!! ~Wendy.

Pregnancy Q & A

My mom handed this to me to read & I thought I'd post it on the blog for your enjoyment. I only included the ones that Will laughed at. There are at least a couple of you that read this who I know are pregnant! Love you all! ~Wendy.

Q: Should I have a baby after 35?
A: No, 35 children is enough.

Q:I'm 2 months pregnant now. When will my baby move?
A: With any luck, right after he finishes college.

Q: My wife is 5 months pregnant & so moody, sometimes she's borderline irrational.
A: So, what's your question?

Q: My childbirth instructor says it's not pain I'll feel during labor, but pressure. Is she right?
A: Yes, in the same way that a tornado might be called an air current.

Q: Is there any reason I have to be in the delivery room while my wife is in labor?
A: Not unless the word "alimony" means anything to you.

Q: Is there anything I should avoid while recovering from childbirth?
A: Yes, pregnancy.

Q: Do I have to have a baby shower?
A: Not if you change the baby's diaper very quickly.

Music To My Ears

On the 4th Ethne laughed her first laugh. It was at a duck sound Will was making with some toy from a duck ride in Branson, MO. It was precious, definitely one of my favorite sounds in the world & of course as soon as I grabbed the video camera it was too late. Will had her laughing again later on that night just fake laughing at her. There's something about his fake laugh. . . it always gets Lilyanah going too. And as equally adorable about a half hour she laughed in her sleep. It was just a little giggle but I think she must have been dreaming of her daddy's smile. I know the above isn't the most appropriate picture of Ethne in a post about her smiling, but it's so hard for me to believe that this cooing, smiling, laughing, baby girl isn't even 4 months old yet! (Which, by the way, is how old Lilyanah was when she started giving us big smiles!) We are blessed.
On Saturday Papa, my dad & Will worked on installing new french doors in our living room. I think all that's left to be done is interior molding around the door & painting it all. Once that's done I'll post a pic of the finished product. I'm sick unfortunately but happy to say that I am the only one in my family who got it moderately bad. Lilyanah has a little runny nose but apparently Ethne's getting all the antibodies she needs from me! On Sunday Will & I watched Extreme Home Makeover, it took place in Corvallis, OR. I hope you don't mind me saying this honey, but both Will & I teared up. The family whose home got the makeover had a little 8 year old girl who was/is battling cancer for the second time in her short life. I don't typically say hate, but I do hate that disease. She is such as sweet little girl, her name is Boey & she actually saves her money to buy teddy bears to give to other kids with cancer up at Doernbecker. I'm sure I misspelled that, sorry. It makes me ashamed of myself for not doing anything to make a difference in the lives of people who are still fighting for their lives. Last night Will & I looked at each other & after he told me I'm not allowed to get cancer again we decided we need to do SOMETHING. When I crawled in bed I prayed to God asking Him for guidance & a phrase came to mind, "Heaven On My Head". . . . And there is what I'm going to figure out how to do. My dear friend Lecia is a talented crocheter (that cannot possibly be a word, but you know what I mean) & made me amazing hats to wear while I was bald & that is how I described them, they were like 'heaven on my head'. So, that's what I'd like to do, get a bunch of people together who know how to crochet & see if I can purchase & maybe even get some VERY SOFT yarn donated to the cause & start making hats for sweet, bald little kiddos heads for the cold winter approaching. If you'd like to help at any level please give me a call or email or comment on the blog. I'm only starting to figure out the logistics but would love help. . . I hope you all are having a spectacular day & are enjoying your health!! ~Love, Wendy.

"That" Guy

Will said, "Now, I'm "that" guy." and for some reason it stuck with me. You see my husband is a HUGE football & fantasy football fan. As he explains it, there are the guys who take the time to watch the games & keep up with the stats & stories online about players & have a good idea of which players to keep on your team, which ones to drop & which ones to pick up as well as play or not play.He's always kept up on 'the news' as I like to call it (ESPN.com) & usually does pretty good with his teams. But then he describes there is 'that guy,' the one who doesn't watch all the games & know everything about the players, the one that other fantasy football players joke is a 'bye-week' when they play him. And according to my husband he is 'that guy.' But he's okay with it (for the most part) because we three girls are his reason why. He always says you give up something you love for something you love more. Yesterday I was watching on Oprah where they were asking the question, "Why did you get married" (inspired by the title of a new movie released on the 12th of this month). They had various couples on the show to whom they had posed the question, one of which was an older couple who were on their second marriage. The wife commented that this marriage was great because her husband was so 'easy.' When he was asked a question about what he was doing differently in this marriage, he said he dies to himself every day.They joked about him being so easy because he was dead but I kept thinking, that's not the end of the sentence. Marriage is about dying to yourself every day, giving up things you love for something/someone you love more. But the rest of the sentence should have been that his wife was doing the exact same thing. The times when Will & I have been the happiest are the times when we'remore concerned about the other's needs & how to take care of & make the other happy instead of spending our time trying to figure out how to take care of ME. How did I get on that tangent? Well, all of that to say I have an amazing, giving, loving, SACRIFICIAL husband who is 'that guy' because he loves his girls.
On another subject, 'that guy' got a new job that's a pretty substantial promotion. With a 21% raise in pay(I'm pretty sure I did the math correctly). His new title is Assistant Controller, which is HUGE! (His old title was Staff Accountant.) The new company, Waste Connections, is also going to pay our Cobra insurance until their insurance for us kicks in, so if something were to happen, which Lord willing it won't, we will be covered. That was a pretty big factor in him being able to take the job. And while we're on the subject, Cobra is CRAZY expensive, so we're very, very thankful that it'll be taken care of by WC. How funny, you're all gonna think I'm a big goof, which I am, but the only 3 waste companies that I know of are the top 3 in the nation. Waste Management (WM), Allied Waste (where Will currently works) & Waste Connections (WC) where he will begin working on the 22nd of this month. My maiden initials are the latter & my married initials are the former. Like I said, I'm a goof for noticing & probably a bigger one for pointing it out! Anyway, they will be training Will to take over one of the next Controller positions that opens up, which will most likely be in Washington, though there's a possibility it could be in Oregon. If you will all please just pray that God's will is done in wherever we go next. We would love not to move, to be able to stay in Newberg close to family & friends & in our house which is becoming more & more our home. My parents especially would love that too! (Mom I'm sure is nodding her head as she reads this.) But more important than our will is God's will. We're just hoping they are one and the same! I just want to say that I love all these pictures; the last one is just making me laugh! To end this entry I just want to say, 'Will, Congratulations, I am so proud of you baby!' Love you all! ~Wendy.

3 month old Ethne & Big Sister

Here the girls are from the 27th. We had to get some pictures before fall set in & all Gigi's beautiful flowers are all gone!. These sailor suits are just so cute to me. My mom has always loved sailor outfits on kiddos. I think Gigi use to make them for us when we were kiddos. She said seeing them on the girls almost tempted her to start sewing little kids clothing again. (I said ALMOST!) So, our plans for the weekend aren't too big. . Saturday Will is going for a 5 mile hike up off the Old Columbia River Hwy, pretty near the bed & breakfast we stayed in right before Ethne was born. He's going with a couple of guy friends & I'm sure will have a blast, the only downfall is having to get up early on a Saturday morning! On Sunday we're having some people over to 'launch' a new program we're starting at church called Suppers 8. We were involved in it at a different church we went to & it was a lot of fun as well as a great way to get to know people you don't know so well. I had to come up with the announcement & the insert for the bulletin, but I'm not sure how well my wording explained it on either! Basically a group of 8 people takes turns having people into their homes for a meal. You meet 1 time a month in a different person/couple's home from the group. Anyway, I hope all of you have a fun weekend planned. Isn't that the saddest picture, by the way, of Lilyanah touching Ethne's head & Ethne crying? I hope you enjoy the pictures. I have got to start scrapbooking the girls baby books!!! If you had an extra 4 hours in the day with no distractions, what would you choose to do with your time? Love you all! ~Wendy.

The Office Season Premiere Party

So, my cousin Katie inspired this party, simply from having hosted an Oscar party in the past. But what fun! I loved every one's costumes. I'm not in the picture because I was off tending to Ethne, but I can't tell you how much I was impressed by every one's costumes!!! We all dressed like a character from the office. The funny thing is that none of the girls dressed like the same character while 4 of the 6 guys dressed as Dwight! If you don't watch The Office I guess you don't know who I'm talking about. We gathered around 7pm at our house & we watched the last two shows from last season (from our ipod). That took us up to the 9pm season premiere. I made some snacks that certain characters are known for & we just laughed together. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the gathering as much as Will & I did.
Meet Evan & Cori Campbell. Cori brought a YUMMY pumpkin spice cake, I LOVE pumpkin. When I was a kid the Dairy Queen use to have pumpkin ice cream starting in October & going through Thanksgiving. It was DELICIOUS & I looked forward to it every year. They don't do it anymore instead they do some sort of blizzard thing with pumpkin. Don't get me wrong I still like it but the pumpkin ice cream was my FAVORITE!
Here are Nick & Abby Mears, they work out at Camp Yamhill & have been married somewhere around 5 months. So much fun, these two. I want to write more about everyone but it's REALLY late & I'm INCREDIBLY tired so the rest of this will be short.
Meet Jared & Jenny Mears (yep Jared is Nick's older brother). Such a sweet, creative couple.
Ben Stutzman, just an amazing young man that I just happen to babysit in my younger years. If there had been a prize for the best costume Ben would have won it.
Michael & Lori Morris. What can I say we know a lot of sweet people, these two are no exception.
I had to put a picture of 'The Dwight's' on here. PRICELESS!
From left to right we came as, Angela, Phylis, Pam, Kelly & I came as Karen. Again that means nothing to you if you don't watch The Office. . . To defend my costume, I did have a different shirt on earlier, but Ethne needed a resting place so I had to change into one that would be more comfortable for her to rest her cheek on. Good excuse! I hope you all have been enjoying your favorite shows premieres! Love you all, I'm going to bed!!! ~Wendy. (p.s. Ethne turned 3 months today, but I can't post any pics cause the camera I used won't load them on my computer, I'll try to get them up soon!)

What's a good night sleep like?

What a great weekend!!! I love getting things done around the house!!! Saturday morning Will woke up with the girls so I could sleep in a little bit, (so sweet!) He took a little nap when I got up & when he woke up again he set to work on ripping out the front door. Installing doors is quite a project! But Dad came over & between him & Will I am pleased to say that 2 of the 3 new doors we bought for the house have been installed!!! Mom took care of the girls so I could work on painting projects. The trim around the windows & the color of all the doors has been a medium/light green, the trim is now black. I have to say I like it a lot more!!! You can pretty much see what I've been doing by the before & after pictures. I got one of the last plants in the front planter planted. . . It was a fruitful weekend!
Cute Lilyanah story, though I sometimes think you really have to be there to fully appreciate it! I was up at 5 this morning taking care of Ethne & as it was an especially cold morning & being that Lilyanah was wearing cotton pajamas (vs. the really thick blanket pjs)I decided to check & make sure she had her blanket covering her. BIG MISTAKE!!! She wasn't covered, she was curled up with her head on the mattress & her backside sticking up in the air. Of course a moment after I opened the door she started to stir & not the kind where I could still turn back. She got to her feet & said 'down peas' which of course means 'up please'. I picked her up & sat in the rocking chair with her for a couple of minutes, she was still somewhat asleep but I knew she'd wake herself up more if I put her down in her crib & cry for an hour. So, I opted to lay her in Ethne's bassinet next to our bed. Ethne was laying in our bed (as I had just taken care of her) so it was perfect. I explained to Lilyanah that it was the bassinet or her crib so she laid down nicely to avoid going back to her crib. I crawled in bed & not 2 minutes later Lilyanah started to sing the theme song to Veggie Tales. That's her subtle way of asking to watch it. I just stayed quiet. After a couple of minutes of singing she said something & laughed at herself. Then Titus (our fawn colored pug) started to snore & Lilyanah started laughing again. It was so cute just hearing her little reactions & I think it's so cute when she sings Veggie Tales cause' I definitely know what's going through that precious little head of hers!!! Oh & by the way, she didn't go back to sleep. I hope you all are getting more sleep than I am! Love you all!!! ~Wendy.

Have I ever told you that I do not like trying to come up with entry titles? It's not a gift of mine.

I think I'm doing so good & then I fall behind again. The first picture is from August 24th when our good friend Matt was visiting from Oklahoma. Laura made dinner for all of us & we had a good time going through her pictures from our 'childhood.' I just wanted to get that in there! I have been keeping busy; the weather is turning & I'm trying to get the things done outside that I won't be as glad or able to do when it gets colder. I do have to say that I love the fall. I love it when the air is cool & crisp & the sun is shining. Isn't it so refreshing? Of course the cold weather also brings memories of a very cold house, not something I'd like to repeat. So to make sure it doesn't, Will & I came up with a little game plan & went shopping at Home Depot to get things to make our home more energy efficient.I love getting things for the house but wow, it can be TOTALLY exhausting! We were in a rush because Will had some guys coming over to play poker. (Don't go to Home Depot with only a couple of hours & more than 10 things on your "to get" list.) We did get just about everything we needed though.
One thing we got was a new front door--yippee! I spent some of Lilyanah's naptime yesterday painting the outside surface. It's red, of course. Will said a guy at work told him that in some culture somewhere (don't you love how I absorbed the details?!) people would paint their door red when their home was paid off. Nothing like a red light, as my dad pointed out. Dad did say that may be how the people who painted their doors red paid their home off.
Onto another subject, the girls had a doctor appointment on Tuesday. It's funny how it worked out, Ethne was exactly half Lilyanah's weight at the time they weighed them. Lilyanah is 20 months old & weighs 24 lbs 8 oz. Ethne thus is 2 3/4 months & weighs 12lbs 4oz. Lilyanah is 33" long (so close to 3 feet!!!!) & Ethne is 23" long. In less than 3 months she's already grown almost 5"!!!!!! So you see I'm not crazy sentimental when I say she's growing up way too fast!!!!! I just know they'll both be taller than me before they finish jr. high! I can't complain though, I always wanted to be taller. 5'7 1/2" was my goal height, which I occasionally achieved with some of the shoes I chose to wear. That goal also accounted for the height of the majority of my crushes growing up, which was usually in the 6' range. I think the tallest guy I liked measured in at a whopping 6'5", he may have been taller. Will is 6'2" so you see I'm getting what I deserve, children who are taller than me. The other pictures are from 2 Friday's ago. I put Ethne in the little doll stroller that Mema got for Lilyanah & Lilyanah had a blast pushing her around. She stopped about every 5 feet to bend over & give Ethne a kiss on her head. I thought it was precious & ran & grabbed my camera! Love you all!!! ~Wendy.