Little Mathias

Here's our little man, looking all alien. In a way these 3D images are disturbing cause' they don't get the outer layer of their skin completely. But it is amazing that they have the technology to do this! I have to say Lilyanah & Ethne's pics were clearer but the technician had the hardest time getting a picture of him without his hands in front of his face! We feel so blessed that everything from the appointment came back normal! Both the girls had extra fluid in one of their kidneys & I don't know if you remember Ethne had a cyst on her sweet little brain. It's just such a blessing to get a clean bill of health thus far! My official due date is the 22nd of January (I thought it was the 23rd) & I guess all of his measurements point to his due date being the 17th of January. Yep, Lilyanah's birthday! I have an oncology appointment with a new doctor on the 24th so we'll see where we're at with whether or not they'll have me go full term. Anyway, he's kicking like a pro already (so the second picture is appropriate of his cute little legs!) & I'm amazed how much my tummy has grown in just the last couple of weeks. Lilyanah was adorable at the appointment & kept saying, "my baby brother is so cute!" or "my baby brother is so sweet". One time she even said, "my little baby brother gave me something." I said, "what did he give you?" and she said, "he gave me a ball." Where she comes up with these things I don't know! We were so blessed last Friday. . Mom & Dad decided to hop in the car Thursday night & come visit us for Mom's birthday weekend! They arrived in the early early early morning hours & Lilyanah was delighted to wake up to her grandparents!!! It's not an easy drive & I think it took my dad most of Friday to recover! Then most of Saturday preparing for the drive back Sunday evening! The girls love playing with their grandma & we felt completely blessed to get to spend mom's 54th birthday with her. We had strawberry pancakes for breakfast, went to church, had a quick lasagna lunch before Mom put Lilyanah down for a nap & we headed out to get our haircut. I met a sweet lady, Brenda, at our MOPS meeting who is a hairdresser working out of her home. So, one good thing about Idaho is the price of haircuts! Only $25 for a cut & $40 for a cut & semi-permanent color! Way better than Oregon! We got home in time for Lilyanah to wake up from her nap have some birthday brownies & ice cream & then had to say goodbye. All of our least favorite part! Dad was trying to talk us into letting them take Ethne but no such luck for him! One of the days they were here I went grocery shopping minus the girls. I heard a little girl laugh just like little Ethne & almost started crying I missed the girls so much. Crazy isn't it. Needless to say my heart goes out to all of you who don't get to spend every day with my girls. . . especially those of my family who are so accustomed to getting to see them daily! Anyway, it's bedtime so I'm off to read stories & sing songs. . . Love you all! ~Wendy.

Would You Like To Know?

Yes, we know what we are having. . . . It happened rather unexpectedly actually. I was in for an appointment with our new doctor so they would schedule my 20 week appointment where you typically find out what you're having. Anyway, the baby didn't cooperate & she only briefly found the heartbeat so she sent me across the hall to have a quick ultrasound. I was only in there a few minutes but the lady looked around found the heartbeat which she said looked great & then asked if I wanted to know what we were having. Of course I said 'yes!'. I'd had one dream that I was having a litle boy but in that moment I said, 'It's another girl, isn't it.' She said, 'No, it's a little boy.' So there you have it, in another few months a little boy will join our little family which is not so little anymore. We're hoping he'll help balance the drama factor that the girls bring to our lives. We were both very surprised (I called Will immediately because he was at home watching the girls). It's surreal to me still, after two girls, the thought of having a little boy. I've been in 'girl world' for so long it's hard to get away from thinking about pink polka dots (polka pots, as Lilyanah calls them)& flowers. We're so excited though, I just have to get Lilyanah to quit saying she has a little boy in her tummy too! I've told her that her tummy is too small but she still brings it up sometimes.
In other news Ethne had an appointment yesterday at 14 months is 19 lbs 2 oz, 30" long & is still nowhere near needing a hair cut. The doctor said she looks great which we are very thankful for! I'm so looking forward to the change in season. I just love the fall. I'm not sure what I'll think of it here, the wind blows like crazy! Earlier this week we had the closest thing to Winnie the Pooh's 'blustery day' that I've ever encoutered. We Mathias' will be getting some serious winter coats this coming season! Ethne wants to play so this is the end of our exciting update. We love you all! ~w.

A Toothy Grin

Nearly a week in Idaho at this point & it seems like Ethne is deciding to grow up all at one time! She's walking, at least 95% of the time. She's so funny to watch b/c she's still a little unsure of herself but she's doing a GREAT job! She's also getting more teeth, FINALLY! She has her two top teeth & there's another one coming in I'm just not sure where yet. Like most babies she isn't a fan of having someone stick their hand in her mouth. The crazy thing is that she doesn't drool AT ALL. I like that she doesn't but she does get somewhat fussy which makes me sad because I know she's hurting. She also slept all the way through until 5am last night! So, lots of good things just crazy that she's decided to do it all at once. She doesen't seem to be that affected by the move other than always wanting to be in the same room of the house as me. Lilyanah on the other hand is having a pretty hard time with the move. She LOVES seeing her daddy as much as we do, of course we all love that. She just doesn't understand the concept of miles. Everytime she talks to someone from home she says, 'You come see me at our new house?' as if they'll walk through the door a minute later. We do have visitors coming soon which is exciting! Mom is flying in on the 28th of August for nearly a week & then Corey & Kelsey are coming the 19th through 21st of September. Then sometime in October we're looking forward to getting a time set for Mema & Pepa to come visit. We aren't sure yet when we'll be heading back to Oregon but whenever it is it won't be soon enough in all ways but the travel. I'm not a fan of the long drive. I know 10 hours is better than a lot of drives but our girls are not in any way shape or form car girls. 15 minutes into a drive & they're ready to be at the destination or back at the starting point. Anyway, I'm keeping busy trying to get everything in place. Last night we bought this new computer & a new vacuum cleaner that is really great! It's a Eureka, recommended by Consumer Reports, and they were right. The suction is so strong & it's like it has a mind of its own leading me forward! Ethne & Lilyanah are holding little books & Ethne is patting it saying Bi buh. . . They sang a song back in Bible class in Newberg that went 'I love to pat the Bible, etc. .' I think that's what Ethne was doing, so precious!
This is probably a silly thing to write about but I thought it was so funny. One of our rugs got super dusty being in the remodel & the vacuum I had was not strong enough to clean it so the movers rolled it up dirty & until last night we left it that way b/c it was so dusty. Anyway, I was talking to Will about where to put it & he said he would really like to keep the rug we have in the living room there & put the newly cleaned rug in one of the bedrooms. He didn't want to put it in the living room because he said with the rug that's there now it makes him feel like he's sitting in a big cup of hot cocoa. If you know my husband at all you know 2 things. He LOVES him some chocolate & he does not like being hot, so he must mean a cup of iced hot cocoa! I see what he means though, with the walls & the wood & the sofa all being brown, of course the rug is off white so it's either the whipped cream or marshmellows. Next entry hopefully I'll have some pictures from our family reunion a couple of weeks ago. It was so much fun staying up late with 'the cousins'. I think it made the transition to being just us 4 a little harder after being completely surrounded by family who also just happen to be great friends! We love & miss you all! ~wendy.

In Idaho

Hello to all of you who still check this! I planned on posting more often once we got to Idaho but our computer decided to act up & the only time I can get online is at night when Will is at home with his work laptop! So once we get that fixed I will have more frequent postings! As much as we miss family & friends (& we do miss you) it's so nice to be back together as a family on a 24 7 basis. The girls get so excited about Will coming home for lunch & then seeing him again so shortly after they wake up from their naps. Of course they're having a pretty hard time ot seeing famiy they're use to seeing all of the time. I can't tell you how many times Lilyanah asks to go to Grandma's house or see Grandma. It's hard to try to explain to a 2 1/2 year old why she can't see everyone like usual. Unfortunately I can't post any pictures yet but hopefully soon! Let me take a moment to say Happy 11th Birthday Chip (Will's sister's son) & Happy Anniversary to Corey & Kelsey! Sorry to cut this short but this girl needs her sleep & I don't want to see midnight again! Love & miss you all!!!! wendy.

Lilyanah's Prayer & the TRUE story of Maria

Miracle of miracles, the girls are napping at the same time which gives me a short moment before cleaning up how we spent the first half of the day! First I want to mention that last night Lilyanah said her first prayer. It was SO adorable. I had to start her out at Dear God, she proceeded to say, "Thank you for Daddy, thank you for Corey, thank you for Kelsey, thank you for Casey, thank you for Gigi, thank you for all blessings... amen. Your turn Mommy." I wasn't even offended that she thanked God for a dog & not me (Casey is Corey & Kelsey's dog inherited from my older brother Jeremy). . .
I don't know why but lately I've been interested in finding out the 'real story' about people's lives that we watch movies about. Lilyanah absolutely LOVES The Sound of Music right now, or 'me a name I call myself' as she calls it. Mostly she loves the puppet scene & the song Do Re Mi. She asks to put on a pretty dress so she can dance around to the music, it's pretty precious. Anyway, I started wondering what really happened to the mother of the children, how she died & such. What I found out was that their fortune came from her because her grandfather had invented the torpedo. Their oldest child was a boy, not a girl & I mention him because he was born on November 1st just like me! Their names were: Rupert, Agathe, Maria, Werner, Hedwig, Johanna, and Martina. Doing the math it looks like she was pregnant with the first child a month after they got married!! A short eleven years after they were married she died of scarlet fever contracted from the children. Martina, their youngest was a year & 7 months old at the time. So sad! About 4 years later Maria was hired to come & tutor his daughter Maria was was recovering from an illness & unable to attend school. A year or so later the two got married.Apparently he was in love with her but she was not in love with him. Fortunately she was in love with his children & when he asked her he asked that she not only be his wife but a mother to his children so she agreed. She did say that she came to love him deeply. They had 3 children together Rosemarie, Elenore ("Lorli"), & Johannes. It was not right after they got back from their honeymoon but 13 years later that they fled Austria. And they did not do so on foot but took a train to Italy and then went on to the United States. The family settled in Stowe, Vermont where some still live. The father (Georg) was a kind, attentive & loving father according to the children. And Maria was sweet but would suddenly be 'not nice' as we say in our house & then a moment later be fine again. So both were misrepresented in the movie. And their musical 'manager' was not a family friend but the family's priest! Crazy isn't it! Anyway, if any of you have a renewed desire to see the movie apparently there is a cameo appearance by Maria, her daughter Rosemarie,and Werner's daughter Barbara. For an instant they can be seen walking past an archway during the song, "I Have Confidence", at the line, "I must stop these doubts, all these worries/If I don't, then I know I'll turn back." I just read that so I haven't checked it out for myself yet! I hope you all enjoyed the history lesson! And if you're curious there is a picture of her if you go to wikipedia & put in Maria Kutschera).
So yesterday, which was Ethne's official due date, by the way. . . I watched 'Becoming Jane'. It was a very sad story to me. I'm a sucker for romance & a few of my pet peeves are when two people are in love do not get together. Even worse is when they do get together & then one dies! Why in the world do authors do that!!!! Greek tragedy is the worst to me! Anyway, after watching the movie I was interested to see how close they got to the real story. I discovered that Jane Austen died today, July 18th. Which is also 12 days after Will proposed to me 6 years ago & the day we left Oklahoma to come back to Oregon for a visit for the first time together. Since we're remembering it's also the day I got my first kiss at the age of 18 in 1995. . . 13 LONG years ago! Am I being unrealistic if I hope my girls wait that long for their first kisses!!!? I think this post is long enough, I have a lot to do before leaving for the airport to pick up my sweet husband. Yesterday we were sitting at the table for lunch & Lilyanah said "My daddy is so sweet. He loves his girls." She's right on both counts! Love you all & hope you have a GREAT weekend! ~Wendy.

June & some of July Update

Our little girl turned 1 year on the 27th of June!!! We had a little party in my parents back yard with some family. We didn't spend the day the way she would have chosen (which is my plan from here on out). We went in to Washington Square Mall & found her the sweetest birthday dress from Janie & Jack (probably my favorite store for baby clothes~but way too expensive for every day shopping! That's what Old Navy is for!).Then, we headed over to Pottery Barn kids to let Lilyanah pick a birthday present for her. She did a great job & picked a little rag doll. We also found some comforters for the girls beds. It's taken me this long to find some I like enough to buy them so I was pretty excited. . . Of course one was part of Ethne's present. Her daddy is also going to make her a bookcase, he may have already started. Grandpa actually picked out a really cute dress for her that she wore to church this past Sunday. When Will got back to Twin Falls last night he found a couple of things from Step 2. If any of you parents haven't discovered Step 2 yet, they're great!The girls love what we call their 'village toys'. . . It's a miniature village set with the cutest little people & animals & accessories. The kitchen we got the girls for Christmas was from that company as well as the picnic table & writing table Lynn got for them. Anyway, needless to say we like their stuff! When I told Lilyanah this morning about Mema sending some new toys to our new house in Idaho she said, "Mema so sweet." She's right!July 9th I got to visit with a very dear friend to me. You know how there are some people you meet & you are instantly just drawn to them. . . Well, I think it was 1994 when I first met Pam Graham. I was a senior in high school driving up to Washington for my first time to go to her sons football game. Only problem was the friend (who I shall not name. . .) who gave me directions told me to get on I-5 going South & forgot to mention to take the first exit for 205 North. I made it all the way to Salem before finding someone to help me get turned back around in the right direction. (Jim Williams, my mother would have helped but I couldn't reach her.) Anyway, needless to say I was a little bit of a wreck feeling very lost that when I drove into their driveway & saw Pam waiting there I got out of my car & rushed to give her a big hug. I instantly knew she would be one of my favorite people on this earth, & she still is!So, on the 9th we met up to go to a ladies class at Renewal (the 'retreat' at Southwest Church of Christ in Tualatin) & then came down to my parents house to visit. It was so nice to catch up, the crazy thing is the last time I had seen her was when I was 5 months pregnant with Lilyanah!!! Sometimes life is like that though isn't it? Years pass between friends without getting to see each other & then once you do you pick up exactly where you left off. I treasure friends like that!

The College Street House
We are officially on the market as of July 10th. If you want to see pictures go to www.thekellygroup.net
click on Our Listings (the top left under Properties For Sale)
Where it says Please Select in the top middle select Newberg
We're the only house listed for $274,900
And just so you know if you look at the pictures we purposefully killed the grass in the back yard because we're putting in a new lawn.. .
The 10th was also my cousin Laura's 30th birthday & the day my dad went in to have eye surgery. Dad is still recovering but everything went well. We'll find out more tomorrow after his doctor appointment.
Will is still working hard for us in Idaho. . . Seriously SO hard, some nights he doesn't get home until after 10pm! He guarantees me such will not be the case once we girls get there. Which is not all that far off, just a couple of weeks! We all miss him so much, and are so blessed to have such an amazing man to call husband & the girls to get to call Daddy. He's going to be driving home this coming weekend because he'll be flying into Montana the coming week & the week after that he gets to work the first couple of days from home (here in Oregon) & then we four are headed off to Sun River for a management meeting with his company. He'll leave at the end of that weekend (the first weekend in August) with the dogs & we'll be close behind after our "Butcher" family reunion!

Tonight my sweet mother came over to our house to help me clean up a bit before all the realtors come over tomorrow as well as my cousin Laura. I had to paint our rather large back patio one color. It hasn't been once consistent color since we moved in! Laura stayed there with me until after 11pm keeping me company. I hope all of you are blessed to have a friend as good as Laura in your life. She's funny, sweet, thoughtful, kind, considerate, so fun to be around, loves the Lord, would give her life for her family. . . . She's all around amazing & the only thing I don't like about spending time with her is when we have to go our separate ways!

There is some more news I haven't officially shared with all of you yet. . .
While we were in Hawaii we found out we're having another baby. Yep, 3 Mathias kids!!!! Were we surprised? ABSOLUTELY! But after trying for awhile to get pregnant the first time I just wanted to be able to have our children whenever without trying to or trying not to & apparently that was God's plan too. We're pretty sure this will be the last Mathias baby unless we decide to adopt in the future. We're all pretty excited. My due date is January 23rd, 2009! Honestly, I hope I don't have to go the full 40 weeks but I'm not sure what will happen with that. My last CT scan was awhile ago & they won't do an MRI on my until I'm out of my first trimester, which I am, by the way. Barely, but I have an MRI scheduled for the 29th of this month. I think that catches you up on most things. There's always so much going on! We love you all & hope God is showering you all with blessings. ~Wendy.

Week One in Idaho. . .

Monday the 16th Papa, Gigi, the girls & I loaded up into their little Honda Civic for a 12 hour drive to Twin Falls, Idaho. The drive isn't usually that long but with 2 little girls who need to stop every once in awhile to get out & move around it was a bit longer than we expected! I'm putting some pictures up from the end of the week after we'd unloaded just about every box & even found some places for things on the walls. We were amazed at how much we got done, but then again Papa & Gigi were involved & when something needs to be done they don't dilly-dally about it! We had such an amazing time getting to see Will numerous times every single day! We all felt like it was a little piece of heaven. Will came home for lunch, something he hasn't been able to do since we were first married & living in Washington D.C. The girls just went crazy every time he walked through the door. Not only that but we got to see him for at least 3 hours every evening without staying up until midnight! That time is truly why we made this move & I'm so thankful that God is giving us all that time together. Of course it made it harder to leave the following Monday when we did. We all had a week of being spoiled! It's no fun having your heart in 2 places. The last time I felt like that was when Lilyanah was in the NICU & Will & I had to stay in a hotel across the street. That was no fun & neither is this! But it is for a short season & sooner than we know it we'll be in Idaho having left parts of our hearts here with family & friends. Anyway, it's late so the first house picture is of the front of the house which is a little too contemporary for me! I liked the inside & backyard enough to look past the contemporary house front. Anyway, the next pictures are of the great room, the first taken near the entry & the other taken in the dining room. The last one is of course the backyard, which we love. Things are still kinda a mess but at least it gives an idea of what it looks like. I'm also including a picture of our girls during one of their baths in their bathroom. Love you all! ~Wendy.

Aloha

What a month! We left May 11th for Maui and I was impressed at how well the girls did on the plane ride! Lilyanah was in heaven having Grandma on the plane & played almost the entire time! On the flights in order to get her to chew on take off & landing we take fruit snacks & jelly beans. She LOVES the jelly beans which I think account for her asking to go to the airport so much! We found some good beaches & I was so happy that the girls took to the water as well as they did.Lilyanah is only moderately a fan of the ocean, she loves the sand. She'd be playing in the sand & tell the ocean to 'stay'. One day at the beach we dug 2 deep holes. One was her little pool & the other was her little house. Mom took Lilyanah to the ocean to get her cleaned off a bit & a guy walked right through both of the holes knocking a bunch of sand in the holes. Mom said, "that was not a very nice man". Lilyanah out of the blue days later said "Not a nice man." So crazy & sad the things she is starting to remember! Ethne, loved the ocean & pools. We would put her in a little floatie & she'd smile & kick & splash. She'd also fall asleep in the water which was GREAT! I'd just cuddle with her in the ocean & sway with the waves & she would almost without fail fall asleep. Of course I think it had a lot to do with us being at the beach during her nap time! While we were on Maui Ethne's first tooth broke through her gums. The second one broke through about 2 weeks later. So now our 11 month old has 2 teeth!! We were all very careful about putting a lot of sunblock on & limiting our time in the sun. They have a Costco there & if any of you are heading to Hawaii check & see if there's one close. It's a serious money saver, the prices are the same or close to what they are here. Just a little tip! We sure missed Will while we were there! We were so happy to join up with him on the 18th in Kauai. We actually had a 9 hour layover on Oahu & went to see our relatives while we were there. My grandma Craig's niece who is now 92 years old (Lisa) was there & we got to visit with her a bit which was really nice, she reminded me of my grandma Craig. Anyway, even with that long layover we were still rushing to the airport afraid we may miss our plane. God took care of us, as He always does & we made it on time.Will picked us up in Kauai & all 3 of us girls were in heaven having him near again! Our week on Kauai was spent going to different beaches & playing at the pool. It's crazy that anything you may want to do costs more than $100 a person sometimes for only 1 hour of entertainment. We did pay that much to go to a luau which was worth the money. The hotel was beautiful, the food was great, the setting for the luau was gorgeous & the dancers were talented. We even saw a guy do a fire dance, yikes!!! Lilyanah wanted to get up & dance the whole time! The first picture is at a beach on Kauai that I can't spell or pronouce. It's where they shot the pilot for Gilligan's Island & it is one amazing, not well known beach! I think it was my favorite! We went back the next day, our last day on the island & there was a couple getting married there. It was a little bizarre because one of the guys there had a 2 1/2 year old daughter buck naked running free on the beach along with 2 little puppies. Randomly he was originally from Portland. We got to know Ava (his little girl) pretty well as she decided we were the most fun to play with! We had such a GREAT time & feel so blessed to have been able to spend 2 weeks in such a tropical paradise! I could write more but there's no way I'll get this posted anytime soon if I try! I hope you enjoy the pictures! Love you all! ~Wendy.

Kitchen Remodel

I know you all are amazed that I'm writing 2 times in one week, I guess twice in one month is impressive for me these days! Anyway, I was taking some pics for Will to send him (since he's in Idaho for the rest of the week) & thought I'd finally give you a little peek. Of course it still isn't finished but just so you can see the difference! Hopefully you think it looks better than before. We've doubled the amount of counter & cabinet space, added about 4 feet to the kitchen & made it a lot more open to the rest of the house. I really love it & can't wait to see it all together! The first two pictures are the same corner. The second two are also looking at the same wall. The open space on the left is for the dishwasher & the open space on the right is where the fridge will go. The 5th picture is looking from the new doorway (where the oven was in the first picture) down into the laundry room. The last picture is of the wall where the door use to be, the oven will go in the opening. That's all for now! Ethne is crawling around all over the place trying to keep from falling asleep. I hope you all have a great day! Love you all! ~Wendy.

Cinco De Mayo!

Hello faithful friends! I wish I had some updated pics of the house but I'm taking those today so maybe tomorrow! They're coming to make a template for the countertops this afternoon & when we get back from Hawaii the whole thing will be ALL done!!! YIPPEE! So, last night the Kronewitters & the Jr. Craig's came over to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with us! Mom made tacos & Kelsey made some yummy guacamole (or so I hear since it was gone when I got home!) The girls played outside a bit & I couldn't pass up putting a picture of them out on the swing! Can you tell who the sisters are? There's an over-abundance of hair on the one side & a serious lack-there-of on the other! It was making me crack up! So, let me answer in case any of you are wondering, the coat Ethne is wearing is Lilyanah's which is why it's 2 sizes too big! After dinner Corey requested a game of German pinocle & Troy & Laura were kind enough to oblige even though the girls were passed their bedtime. Dad made us all banana milkshakes & even the girls (minus Ethne) got a little cup full! Dad makes the BEST milkshakes! Anyway, I had the gang circle up for a quick photo op! I hope you all had a great 5th of May & ate as yummy of Mexican food as we did! Love you all! ~Wendy.