Combs Family Blog

Sew many ideas!!!

2010-07-26T22:05:00.001-07:00

I was very fortunate to receive a sewing machine for my Birthday :) Thanks to Mike and his Family. The crafting world can be overwhelming to say the least, I am often either so overwhelmed I don't know where to start, or there is just so much i want to do I don't know which project to choose. I have to admit I love being crafty, or rather I love the process of figuring things out. so i decided to start by making dresses for Merci and my two nieces. So I bought some yellow fabric that was already shirred. I cant believe how naive I was in the fabric store, I honestly thought that I could just cut the dress to length and sew a seam down the back and girls would be off twirling in their beautiful yellow dresses. Well i am happy to say that the dresses turned out adorably, but it certainly was a learning process, by the third dress ill have to say i had so many new techniques i had learned and had PLENTY of ideas on how i could do it better the next time. all in all i enjoyed having a project. Next time i will buy fabric with a little more give though, i had Merci wear hers to the children's festival and by the time she was done running around there was a rip at the bottom of her dress :(

Merci and her friend Jordy at the Children's FestivalSorry i don't have a very good shot of her in it, my goal is to get a picture of all three girls

Time to start Swingin

2010-06-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

Mike, his Dad, and his Brother Mark have been working on and off (Due to Rain) on building a play-set in the backyard!.!.!.! I am so excited! its not even finished yet, and it has already changed our life so Much :-) We are so blessed to have Mikes Dad help us on these projects. if it were left to us we would probably end up with a beam and one lonely swing on it. But because I know I have a Father-In-Law who is a craftsman, I get to dream a little bigger. Our play-set is going to have 2 "Big Girl" swings, or so Merci says, and a Baby swing for Bennett. It will also have a slide, a deck up top and my favorite part........a clubhouse below!.!.!.! I know! all I can say is I was never so blessed as a child. Here are some pics of the beginning stages:-)The Kids did so well while I worked. My Job: Getting the Yard Ready.........Let's just say it was hard work Oh, and by the way, the only reason it was my Job to get the Yard ready is because I have a very BUSY husband, and I'm not very patient........plus I'm weird and like projects like this :-)I'll post more when it's complete

......and so it begins ;-)

2010-05-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

Here Bennett is working on his newest accomplishment. We have also been pulling ourself up on EVERYTHING! His favorite place is in the crib when he is suppose to be napping :-)

Some Pics of our little cuties :-)

2010-04-26T07:38:00.000-07:00

Kids being Kids :-)

A rare find.....any mom knows that a picture with both of your kids looking at the camera and actually smiling, is a rare find. That is why I Cherish this photo

Merci and Bennett

Merci Dressing herself (in the month of December......Brrrr)

Merci Painting :-)

Bennett sitting in our freinds Purple Bumbo chair........Priceless

Little man is 6 months old

2010-04-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

Our little man is not so little these days:( it is so sad when you look back and it feels as if you have hardly taken a breath and already your children are 3 and 6months. it is so funny to me the different perspective we as parents have taken with our 2nd child. With Merci I was praising every accomplishment and preparing her for the next milestone with eagerness. But with Bennett, although I do prepare him for the next milestone by exposing and giving him ample opportunity to achieve these milestones, my fists are not up in the air pumping with exuberance, my heart is often sad to see that the time is passing just as swiftly as it did when Merci was his age. I am excited to see the man this little boy is going to become and pray everyday that my children will be a light in this dark world, but as a mother I often have to remind myself to just BREATHE! here are a few of their recent accomplishments and favorite activities

Merci:

Loves being outside

Loves Dancing, singing and role playing (we are now into the "okay mama you say this.....and then I say this.... and then we will do this.....")

Loves helping brother with anything and everything

can trace her name and sing the song we made up for it. (It has been a process to get this girl to sit down and color or work on letters, she is constantly moving around.)

can hit a ball with her bat 4 times out of 5 on average

Loves dressing up

Loves Cinderella, and adores the life size Cinderella doll her uncle Jay got her for Christmas

We are going to start a more structured Pre-school schedule so please pray as we officially start homeschooling.

Bennett:

has been sitting up since 5 months old

loves his baths, he's a total splasher and loves to kick his feet when you lay him down in the bath.

has his first 2 bottom teeth

loves to smile at EVERYONE:)

Loves playing with (or watching rather) other kids at church, and Loves playing with the little boy I watch on Mondays and Fridays, even when Parker's screaming because he doesn't want Bennett to mess with him.

Just started solid foods and loves his Avocados

we are still working on him taking a bottle so that mom and dad can get as few dates in.

Hes taking two 1hr naps and a few cat naps a day:))))

I thought he was a poor sleeper, but as it turns out he actually sleeps longer than his sister did, its just that she went to bed later and therefore didn't wake up till morning. I guess I just was wising he was like his sister who slept from 11-7 he sleeps from 8-4 nurses and then goes back to bed till 7.

update.....finally

2010-03-03T18:01:00.000-08:00

I keep hearing how much i need to do an update........so sorry:( I cant find my camera cord and so i haven't been able to upload any new pictures. and personally i enjoy reading blogs that put pictures up, i love seeing how much the children have changed since last i saw them, so i guess I've been putting it off because i assume others are the same way. Mr. Bennett has changed so much, he is our little smile guy, which ironically for our Combs family pictures Bennett didn't smile hardly at all......Kids, they are so unpredictable:) we do have a case of the no naps, and still waking up at around 2am, and for as many times as I've read the baby whisperer you'd think I'd be able to figure this little guy out. but we are putting him on a pretty strict schedule which he seems to thrive on, it is so foreign to me, Merci was on a pretty lose schedule just as long as i did E.A.S.Y (eat,activity,sleep,yourself) with her she would take 2 three hr naps and still sleep through the night, Bennett.......not so much. I'm singing hallelujah if i get an hour nap out of him, more typically he's a 45 min nap taker. Which i hear from Mikes mother that she was lucky if mike would even take a 45 min nap, so I'm assuming it must run in the family. Michael and i were so spoiled by Merci, she slept through the night at 6 wks, so you can imagine the frustration we feel with Bennett still waking. but i blame part of it on the fact that he is still in our room :( but Merci and Bennett share a room (or at least Merci shares a room with Bennett's crib) so i just cant figure out how to transition him in there with out completely disturbing her. i know i probably sound desperate, but if anyone has any suggestions or knowledge on the area i would love your advice. hopefully i will be able to figure out my camera situation this weekend and put up some new pics of the kiddos:)

Merci's 3rd Birthday

2009-12-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

Can I just say........... I did things right this year:) I gotta say I love parties, but i don't always love all the stress of putting a party together for a 3 year old. so I decided I would have a family members only party at our house this last Saturday, and a Friends get-together at a local indoor-play-area on Merci's actual birthday last Thursday. I loved it and more importantly Merci loved it, I think she loved it mainly because it felt like for the past week we have been doing something special in honor of her birthday. here are a few pictures of Merci's special day(s)

Merci playing with friends Abi and Craig

Playing with best friend Jordy and cousin Aubri

Showing off her new kicks.......Sweet! I love them, thanks aunt HannahCool hat.....Right? Thanks Mimi and Papa Combs

my next project

2009-11-29T21:55:00.000-08:00

here is my inspiration: I'm sad because they are both knit :( the top one is actually listed as a beginner knit scarf, so I think I may try it even though I'm not very good at knitting. its just so elegant, i really want to make one.

Here is the crocheted version: from looking at the pattern it seems pretty simple. I hope it turns out

Bennett's Arrival

2009-09-30T22:24:00.000-07:00

Well we have been home for almost a week now, I have to admit the recovery from this birth has been a longer process than with Merci, but i cant complain much because i had my Mom, Dad and Husband looking after me for almost an entire week. we were scheduled for an induction last Thursday, we had to be at the hospital by 6:30 am. I kept praying (basically pleading with the Lord) that i would go into natural labor......I did not want to have to be induced, but Bennett was way too comfortable in there. At 8:00am I was administered Pitocin, my Dr. then broke my water at 12:30 and by 1:46 pm Bennett was Born. It was a whirlwind of events, I didn't even get the Epidural I was intending on getting, but all in all it was an amazing Birth, and just like Merci we now have another amazing birth story. I can officially say that both of my children were delivered by nurses (my kids just dont have the patience to wait long enough for the Dr. to get there). We are so happy to all be home safe and Healthy. The Lord has truly blessed us, and we are so thankful for our new little addition. Its amazing to me how much is different this time, I just feel so much more calm, confident and sure of myself this time around, the Lord has taught me so much since Merci was a newborn.

Merci's new room

2009-09-01T22:11:00.000-07:00

This has been a much dreaded day.......this officially means that Merci is no longer my baby, but a BIG girl now. she had to move out of the nursery into her big girl room :( I am excited for the new changes we are making to Bennett's room, but i feel as though a piece of me will be getting painted over, when we paint that first wall. its so hard to sit back and just watch her get older......where did my baby go? I am excited to see the little girl the Lord is molding her into, but my heart aches for that little toddler who was so dependent on me. Tonight I came home to her sleeping in her new room, on her new bed that her PaPa Combs made for her. I think its hard for me because i didnt really think that she would be sleeping up there already, i thought we were going to start by only taking naps up there....for her sake and mine, but apparently I'm the only one who is not taking this transition well. She helped Daddy get it all ready by putting the sheets on it and decided that she was sleeping up there at night too.

A New Name

2009-07-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

So we thought we were set on a name for our little boy, but as it turns out Caden is more popular than we would prefer. So we just kept on searching, and though i feel that we have come to a name I am not going to promise anything in case we meet our little guy and feel that it is not the appropriate name for him. Mike and I have certain expectations for the name:
1. we wanted it to be either biblical or have some sort of biblical reference
2. we wanted it to be as unique or as uncommon as Merci (which has been the biggest challenge)
3. and we wanted to be able to use Michael as the middle name.

So we have decided that his name is going to be

Bennett Michael Combs

according to one of our baby books it is the formal version of Benjamin, which means son of my right hand.
But, on the internet it said it was a variation of Benedict, which means Blessed.
So....either way i figure our little guys name has a pretty cool meaning30 w eeks: sorry facial expression is a little funny, but these were taken with Mike's phone so they aren't the best. We are hoping to get a few maternity shots done this weekend so hopefully i will be posting those soon!

Our little Man FINALLY has a Name!!!

2009-06-23T16:33:00.000-07:00

So Mike and I, after much deliberation, have finally come up with a boys name!!!! We are going to call him Caden Michael Combs!!! It was quite a process to find a name that both of us loved. I wanted to love it the same way I did with Merci, her name was so easy it was picked out before we even know she was a girl, and was loved by most. It has really been stressing me out. I am also really excited about Caden's room, even though I will cry when I have to paint over the paint job my best friend Kacy and I did for Merci, it is just so beautiful in there it breaks my heart that we have to paint over it. But I am learning that the Lord wants me to work on the struggles I have with change, so I am taking the attitude that this Change is for the best and we will have the perfect little room for Caden when he comes. So what I am thinking is...... on the wall the crib rests against, will be big Argyle Diamonds, in shades of blue or maybe green depending on what bedding we find, it is so hard to find plain bedding (Surprising, I know!) I think that the bedding should be plain since the wall is going to be the focal point. Mike is totally on board with this as long as Kacy and do all the tapping for the diamonds, which I have already got directions on how to do, so hopefully it all works out according to the vision I have in my head!

Girls Trip!

2009-04-28T14:58:00.000-07:00

My best friend Kacy and I flew down to Arizona Friday Night for one of our friends birthday. It was so much fun, we had an absolute blast. We hung out by the pool, went shopping, ate out, danced around, sang songs as loud as possible and were just plain silly. it was a trip I will never forget. here are some pictures from our fun weekend.

A new Heart in the Family

2009-02-16T16:09:00.001-08:00

This adorable little heart shaped baby is the newest addition to our family. Mike and I went to the Dr. this morning for an early ultrasound I am only about 8.5 weeks along but my Dr. wanted to get a more accurate due date, which is now Sept. 25. Aside from being nauseous and Tired I would say it has been a pretty average pregnancy, I was blessed with an easy pregnancy with Merci aside from some nausea so we are praying this one turns out the same. There is so much to think about with the 2nd one on the way like:

is Merci really ready to move upstairs all by herself

We now need to transition her into a big girl bed (which has been on my mind but i thought we would tackle potty training first)

How is Merci going to react to a new little one

How am i going to function with 2 kiddos for the first 6 weeks with no sleep (and that's saying that the 2nd one sleeps through the night at 6 weeks like Merci.......Yeah right!

If anyone has any baby name ideas I would love to hear them we are willing to consider anything.

Potty Time!!!!

2009-01-29T11:58:00.000-08:00

Merci is starting to potty train, we have had four consecutive days in a row with no accidents.......and that includes #2 Yay!!!!! I cant believe how big she is. at first we started with her just hangin around the house with no pants or panties on, because she was peeing right through them........but oddly enough as soon as she was naked she was running to the potty yelling "PEE-PEE" so we just left her naked. She has now got it down enough to where she is wearing underwear, but no pants, maybe next week we will have it down enough to where she can wear pants too. I really cant tell you how awesome she has done I guess my expectations weren't high enough because she certainly superseded them.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T14:37:00.000-08:00

This New Years we went out to Applegate for Jon Coursons prophecy update, which I so look forward to. Then we headed outside to the amphithetheater where there were these huge bonfires, and we all sang worship songs, and they also left up all of Christmas lights from the Christmas eve service......it was breathtaking! We then got to spend time with friends celebrating the new year. God Bless this new Year, may we find comfort in him.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-27T16:11:00.000-08:00

Merci and Zach: aren't they just the cutest!! they are always running around holding hands and dancing together.

Merci and Daddy at the Downtown Medford Christmas Tree Lighting

Merci and Paige at the Festival of Trees

Christmas Eve

Merci and her "Mimi" Look at the adorable Christmas Penguin dress Merci has on. The Grandma that she is sitting with made it for her. Thanks again Grandma Mimi

Christmas Morning

Don't they look so sleepy......sorry I had to wake you guys up so early but we had to do our family's Christmas before heading over to Grandma and Grandpa's. and it wasn't so bad when you realized there were Christmas Cinnamon Rolls for you Huh..... Umm Yummy!

We have had an unbelievably busy holiday season this year, but for some reason it is still my favorite time of year. I included pictures of some of the holiday activities we took Merci to this year. We had an amazing time with Mikes family for Christmas, and we are praying that the pass is clear this weekend so that we can celebrate our Christmas with with my parents this weekend.

Merci's Birthday Party

2008-12-23T14:49:00.000-08:00

I Know.........its been over a week and I am just now getting around to posting Merci's Birthday Pics, but in my defense I have the excuse of it being the month of December. We had such a great time. Thanks to everyone who made her 2nd birthday a memorable one.

Happy Birthday Merci

2008-12-10T15:03:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the past 2 years........We love you so much sweetie, you have made such a difference in our lives.

So much to be Thankful for

2008-12-01T13:37:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving was by far one of my most memorable......although it was all the way in Seattle, it was so worth the drive for the memories that were created there. If you can imagine the generosity it must have taken to allow over 11 adults, three rambunctious children and lets not forget the 2 babies, into their house. Thanks Aunt Debbie and Uncle John. My fondest memory would have to be all of us girls packing in the car on Black Friday, determined to go shopping, and ending two blocks away from my aunts house at a Starbucks with no shopping bags in tow :( we drove around for nearly 2 hours when it was over, driving through traffic, in Seattle mind you, and also looking for parking. But i have to say the time we spent hanging out around the table in a Starbucks was priceless. Hope all of your Thanksgivings were as blessed as mine.

Here is the kids table centerpiece the girls and I put together.

Merci and my Uncle John, He was sneaking her sweets all weekend.

Pumpkin Carving......or Rather Pumpkin Decorating

2008-11-03T18:24:00.000-08:00

Merci and Daddy decorating her pumpkin

here she is giving Love to her pumpkin

.....and pointing out her nose and the pumpkins noseThis pumpkin was so much fun for the girls, they were entertained with it for days.Xander is the turtle, Logan is Tigger, Merci is the Ballerina, Kambri is the light pink fairy and Aubri is the dark pink fairy.and as you can see we lost the two little ones.

Pumpkin Patch '08

2008-10-27T14:13:00.000-07:00

This is our annual family picture on the log.

Here she is not wanting to pose with me, Always on the go cant even stop to take a picture

Our weekend was filled with pumpkins, it felt like we saw nothing but pumpkins. I have to say it was a lot more fun this year, we were able to do most of the activities. Merci especially liked the horsey ride, or how Merci would pronounce it "Horhey" She is so brave, at the little petting Zoo she kept calling all the animals over to her and was so friendly to them, she was maybe more friendly than she ought to have been i.e. aggressive. but she had a good time and the animals kept coming back to her. When we were out at the pumpkin picking patch she saw that everyone was carrying a pumpkin so she decided to tote one around too, but as soon as she saw the tractor that was coming to pick us up she got so excited she dropped her pumpkin and wanted nothing to do with it, she didnt even want me to carry it for her, luckily i was already carrying one so we still came home with the perfect pumpkin. It just ammuses me how independent and stubborn she can be sometimes.

Day at the Cabin

2008-10-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time at Mikes families cabin up near Hilt CA, its so close we were able to make a day of it. It was fun to go and act like we were camping with the camp fire, wondering around the woods, and shooting off a few clips from a 22......which don't be fooled i may have been raised around guns, but i still have never actually hit anything I was aiming at. Here are a few pictures of Merci and her Grandpa at the stream.

Summer Fun

2008-09-10T14:06:00.000-07:00

Here is Kambri playing with the couch cushions

Merci, Aubri( look at her stick out her tongue) and Kambri

Thanks Grandma Patt for the girls "Night-Night" beds, they use them every day for naps

Merci is always painting herself instead of the paper oh, well........ it makes for cute pictures

Here are some pictures of the fun the Girls and I had this Summer! Hope you enjoy!!!! Things were really hard for a while, but we have now figured out what works best for aubri, and the the girls and I are able to do fun stuff during her morning nap. here is some of the fun we have had the past few weeks.

Fried Bananas

2008-08-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess that they weren't technically fried bananas. Today Merci was sitting up on the counter eating a banana, which i realize is a big no no, but I really didn't see the harm in it until, later, much, much later. Well......when I was making Dinner tonight I needed to use the toaster to toast some English muffins for our open faced burgers........I know English muffins must sound weird for burgers, but it was a new recipe and it was actually quite tasty.......anyway, all of the sudden I smelled something burning, well I guess earlier when i obviously wasn't paying attention, Merci had shoved half of her banana, and some money not to mention, into the toaster. Well all I can say is trying to get mashed up bananas out of a toaster is not the easiest task. Oh Well, isn't that the reason for having children, they sure do keep things interesting.

Weekend at the Farm

2008-08-06T14:57:00.000-07:00

This is a miracle: The two of them are usually so head strong they don't typically get along, I think that is why I love this picture so much.

Here my dad is telling her it is icky coffee in his cup.

I love this picture she totally fell, but isn't it a sweet pic.

We were lucky enough to go and spend the weekend at my Grandma Patt's Farm. I didn't realize how much I love it out there, and of course Merci being the outdoor girl that she is just had a complete blast. The kids were really fascinated by the chickens, turkeys and ducks. we also spent Hours or so it seemed swinging in the tire swing. With all that said we had an unforgettable weekend with the family.

Here we Go

2008-07-14T16:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I new that this time was going to come, and don't get me wrong I even new that it was going to be soon but not this soon. Our daughter has figured out how to get herself out of her crib. I knew children around her age started these types of daring stunts but I hadn't really seen any warning signs. Last night I watched her (without her noticing) I watched her climb into her crib by utilizing the rocking chair, which I found entertaining but really didn't mind that she could get herself in to her crib. and then I watched her get her foot up past her head to reach over the side of the crib and then in one swift move she basically hurdled the side thrusting her body up and over the side. and then of course to congratulate herself she gave herself a round of applause. Well I was hoping that this was just a one time thing, but then of course when I put her down for her nap today it was but minutes when I discovered she was no longer in her crib. So I decided to do some furniture moving and although I am not pleased with the layout of the room I guess it just comes down to " Safety First" Wish us luck and pray we get some rest tonight.

Meg's Graduation and Father's Day

2008-06-16T14:43:00.000-07:00

Out to Lunch!

2008-06-10T11:02:00.001-07:00

Here is Merci with her Grandma Diane, and Kambri walking out to the car from lunch.
The kids did so well at lunch, we were running a little late, and it was practically nap time and yet all three big kids did awesome, Can you believe Merci is being referred to as a "BIG" kid. You moms know how it goes, you can never predict how eating out in restaurants is gonna go, but that day was it was a success.

Walking to the Library

2008-06-07T10:36:00.001-07:00

It has been so much fun having my sisters home with their babies. we have been going to the library on Wednesdays and this last week we decided to walk there. I still feel that Merci may be a little young to expect her to sit still for that period of time, but we just make sure we sit in the back that way she can kind of do her thing, and i have to say every time we go she sits a little bit longer and pays attention to the stories a little longer. If only there were a music program here, because she does such a great job whenever we sing songs, she gets up and claps her hands and dances around, that girl has music in her soul.

My........ My.....Auntie Kacy

2008-06-07T10:16:00.000-07:00

Well...... I will let the pictures speak for themselves. Auntie Kacy has actually tried to get Merci to go to church looking like this, but now she knows all hairstyles need to be approved by mom. Merci actually went over to her grandparents house looking like this, poor girl didn't know why everyone was laughing at her........she just thought that she was doing something cute. We love you Auntie Kacy, you really have been the best friend a girl could have.

Cograts!!

2008-05-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

Well ....... it must be the season for young couples to get engaged! It seems like everyday we are hearing of another couple who are engaged. Well Michael's sister Megan got asked by her now Fiance Mikyl, and we couldn't be happier. Welcome to our Loving and sometimes chaotic family Mikyl. We know that you will treat her with the respect and love that she needs, you have proven that with the way you have treated her while you were dating. I wish I had a pic of the adorable newly engaged couple but I will take some at Megan's COLLEGE grauduation!!!!! Way to go Megs!

A little Treat

2008-05-24T14:29:00.000-07:00

After Mike's game on Thursday we went and got a treat, even though the wind was blowing at about 100 miles per hour and Merci and I were in the crowd cheering mike on while being wrapped in a blanket. It is still a tradition that we go and get treats after his game. So here is Mike and Merci sharing her first Ice cream cone (lets be serious here, the kid has had ice cream before, just never in a cone before.) I have to tell you guys how good Mike's team did. Mike hit 3 for 3( Way to go honey ) and he even made it all the way home one time, though his team did end up losing by 1 point 15 to 16 we were really impressed with how well the team played together, especially for this only being there second game and since half of the guys haven't picked up a bat in the last 10 years.

Little Logan

2008-05-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

Well......I have to start off by saying sorry that it has taken me so long to update my blog, what with family being in town, church, and Mike's Softball games I have been so tired at night , that i just haven't had the energy to even look at my blog. Well mister Logan was born on may 14, 2008, and though I titled this entry "little Logan" he was anything but, he weighed in at 9 lbs 14 oz can you believe that, almost another 10 pounder. I don't know how my sis carries it her doctor was very certain that he was going to be no bigger than 7.5 lbs. Well all i can say is that it sure has been fun having both my sis' home with their babies.

Baby Alger

2008-05-05T21:45:00.001-07:00

Yay!!! baby Alger was born today. Hannah was induced and had an unbelievable labor (Way to go Han, you did awesome) Little beautiful Aubri Kathryn Alger (Sorry I don't know the exact spelling on the first or middle name) was born at 5:24 pm and was 8 lbs and 2 oz and 20 inches long. We love you guys and are so happy for this new little addition to our family, can't wait to get to know her personality.

Merci's Reading Chair

2008-04-28T16:00:00.000-07:00

I just thought this was far too cute not to share it with everyone, here Merci is before bedtime, sitting in one of Kambri's old car seats. You should have seen the smirk on her face when she sat down in it, she thought she was so cute. It was actually nice to have that in her, because it helped contain her, often times its hard to get her to sit down long enough for a bedtime story.

Family Weekend

2008-04-23T21:41:00.003-07:00

Poor Grandpa, he was pushing Kambri practically the entire time we were at the park.

Merci playing on the Turtle at the play area at the Mall. (thanks again uncle Jay and Grandpa for keeping an eye on the kids, while us girls got to shop.)

The girls love their Uncle Jay. (Thank you Grandma for their cute shirts)

I know that this posting is about 2 weeks too late, but I really wanted to post pictures of our fun weekend when my parents came to Medford. The weather that weekend was absolutely beautiful, almost too beautiful, I think that the temperature was into the upper 80's that weekend. We were able to be outside practically the entire time they were here. I know that that was only a few weekends ago, but as it happens we are getting the house ready for you guys to come again this upcoming Monday, I am so excited that the next time we will be seeing you Hannah will be having her precious baby girl, Our family will grow by two new babies (Tasha's & Hannah's) in just a matter of 2 more weeks. I'm happy to have these little babies enter into our family because It will help to cure the little bit, I mean almost non existent, of baby blues that I have. I am by no means ready to venture down the infant phase again, but my heart is already being prepared by the Lord to get ready for that phase in our Life again.

Pear Blossom Parade! ! !

2008-04-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

Well this was Merci's first parade, and I have to say she did an awesome job. Of course her favorite part was when there was music, every time there was music she would get out of her little chair and start clapping and Dancing. I absolutely love to see her dance, the girl has music in her soul. The weather this year for Pear Blossom was wonderful, almost too hot even. We were blessed that Grandma Combs, or as Merci would say it Mahma, came prepared (like she always is, what would an unprepared mother like myself do with out her) she brought all kinds of goodies, drinks, chairs, SUNSCREEN (Thank You) and other fun stuff for the kidos. Here are a few pics of Xander, Kambri and of course Merci.

Happy Birthday!!!!!!

2008-04-08T13:51:00.001-07:00

We just wanted to say Happy Birthday to Merci's Favorite Aunt (on Mikes side of the family, she has one to many aunts to play favorites on my side of the family.) Aunt Megan. We hope you have a wonderful day, and make sure Mikyl spoils you on your special day. Well here are a few paintings that the girls did today in honor of your Birthday. Hope you enjoy. We Love and Miss you and are Soooooo proud of you. Have fun at school!

All Tuckered Out!!!!!!

2008-04-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

Well as you all know we have added a new member to our our family, and although we thought Sunday was a good suite to his personality, we have decided to change his name. His new name is now Tucker, and I have to say I wasn't that fond of it at first but it is growing on me. I originally wanted his name to be Ezekiel, so we would call him Zeke but I guess one of our good friends Dave has a dog named that. Originally we thought that since he was a puppy he would be really really high maintenance but except for the potty training thing, which he hasn't got figured out, he has been a really easy going dog, he even goes straight into his crate at night and now only whimpers a few times. Mike and I are really happy with him. And aside from Kambri running from one room to the other yelling No No No Tucker, he has been a great addition. and as you can see Merci loves him and everything that came with him, she thinks she is so funny when she gets into his bed.

Meet the Newest Member of our Family

2008-03-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

We would like you to meet our new little puppy. Mike and I have really been wanting a dog for a while but we wanted to wait until Merci was a little older, well even though she isn't as old as we wanted her to be we felt it was the right time. Mike and I were just looking at the humane Society's website when we came across this adorable little guy, and you will never guess what his name is! his name is Sunday, and though we felt it was a little girlie at first we really feel that it suits him. as far as we can tell he is a really sweet little guy, when we were in the office just playing with him, and getting to know him and trying to make our decision, the front door was opening and closing seriously like every 3 to 5 minutes and he didn't even seem interested in escaping, and even when a cat escaped from its room he just looked at it and watched it go by, he didn't try and go after it or anything. Now he is only 2 in a half months old so we know that he is going to be a lot of work, and he is a retriever so he isn't going to be this little for ever, but we know that he is going to make a great addition to our family. Now we haven't actually been able to take him home because he needs to get a particular type of surgery done(if you know what I mean) but hopefully he will be able to come home later this week.

A little too young!

2008-03-29T08:16:00.001-07:00

Let me just start off by saying that against my better judgment, we took Merci to her first movie. I should have realized that since she doesn't even sit through a Baby Einstein at home, that she probably wouldn't have the attention span for a full length movie. But because Mike and I really, really wanted to see this movie Horton Hears a Who,which I hear was adorable. So, what it basically came down to was I was on Merci duty the first half and Mike was on the second half. Maybe we will try this again in a few years. but if you see the last picture it doesn't look like she enjoyed herself anyway.

Easter Sunday

2008-03-24T13:18:00.001-07:00

We had a really great Easter this year. Merci is almost at the age where she can really get involved with everything it has to offer. It was so funny because all day Saturday, it was looking like it was going to rain, and our Easter Service was to going to be outside well with the Lord's great timing he opened up a beautiful morning for us so we could enjoy our service outside and then sure enough it rained later on that day, he sure did come through for us. Here are a few pictures of the girls(Kambri and Merci) out in the amphitheater, as you can tell Merci wasn't really into sitting for pictures. I have to also say a special thanks to Grandma Patt for the adorable Easter dress, she loved twirling around in it, and to Grandma Combs for her adorable white salt water sandles. Hope your Easter was as memorable as ours.

Easter Egg Hunt '08

2008-03-23T22:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend was really special, Thankfully both of my sister now live back in Medford so we were able to take the kids to an Easter egg hunt on Saturday. Well I don't know if you can eggsactly(Ha ha ha) call it an egg hunt because they basically just threw candy on the ground and yelled " On your mark, get set, go!!" but the kids enjoyed it, and I guess that is all that really matters. Here are a few cute pictures of the kids, and then there is a really cute one where Merci decided to unwrap some of her candy and started eating it without permission, oh well, it is Easter.

Ouch! that had to hurt.

2008-03-23T21:18:00.001-07:00

Well as you can all see Merci had quite an eventful week this week. Yes that is a black eye. Where to start, Well I always watch a friends daughter on Mondays and Tuesday's, and the girls and I were upstairs playing in the play room, when her mother came so I ran downstairs to gather all of her stuff together. ( leaving the girls upstairs with the gate open. Not a good idea.) now mind you both girls are pretty good about going up and down the stairs but I guess Merci lost her footing and according to my friend proceeded to fall down the stairs head over heels all the way down. And then like the mother that I am I did the absolute worst thing, swooped in and picked her up immediately without checking for broken bones, neck etc... Any way the worst thing that she received from this tragic incident was that lovely black eye which was present for every Easter picture that we took lovely right? I guess we learned a big lesson about stairs this week. We will not be leaving Merci unattended for quite some time.

Tractor Ride

2008-03-14T14:59:00.001-07:00

Here Merci is Riding on the big green tractor. Later that day her uncle Mark took her for a real tractor ride, and she actually did surprisingly well. Merci is definitely happier when she is outside gettin' down and dirty.

And here she is, getting ready to enjoy a little tractor ride all by herself.

Enrichment

2008-03-13T17:25:00.001-07:00

Oh my goodness, This past weekend my best friend and I were blessed to attend a woman's retreat at the Mountain Top. It's a little retreat center that sits on the top of a mountain above our church Applegate Christian Fellowship. It was so nice just to be able to reconnect with some of the woman from our church, and I can't complain it was awesome to spend uninterrupted time with Kacy, as much as I love my daughter, we don't get many opportunities to have a full conversation from beginning to end.

Oh My! Our family is getting bigger!

2008-03-13T16:07:00.000-07:00

Congrats to both of my sisters.
My sisters Natasha and Hannah are both pregnant, well they have actually been pregnant for a while now, but the crazy thing is, is that they are literally days a part. We will have two new additions to our family as of May. isn't the Lord's timing wonderful. Although one is a boy and the other is a girl they will be like siblings the way that Kambri and Merci are.

A little Family History

2008-03-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

I have to admit i have been previewing lots of different blogs this past few months, and I keep thinking how neat it would be to have a family blog for friends and family. But the thought really terrifies me. I am not actually that great at these kinds of things. But all I can give it is my Best right? Well here is a quick little family History lesson. Mike and I met when we were in 6th grade, he was on my little bro Jeremiah's baseball team, though we didn't actually start dating until our Junior year in High School. We then got married in September of '03, so this upcoming September will be Mike and My 5th year Anniversary Yay!!!! December of '06 Michael and I were blessed with a beautiful little girl which we have named Merci. And really all I can say is she is full of life. I have been blessed to be able to stay at home with her, and also with my beautiful niece Kambri. While Mike is still working for Edge Wireless, and loving every minute of it.