Where do we go from here?

Fisher's a climber!

2010-07-01T11:10:00.001-05:00

Celia...

2010-07-01T11:08:00.002-05:00

So it has been awhile...

2010-07-01T10:50:00.001-05:00

Star Local News Lewisville Leader News 200-strong youth group aids Camp Summit

2010-01-21T09:55:00.001-06:00

Here is an article about what our youth did for their service project at Youth Conference.... one of my girls, Iesha French, was interviewed! Click on the link to read....

Star Local News Lewisville Leader News 200-strong youth group aids Camp Summit

Happy kids

2009-12-28T17:34:00.000-06:00

Fisher doesn't love getting pictures taken quite yet, so it is pretty hard to get one of all three at the same time... better luck next time!

Wonderful Christmas

2009-12-28T17:31:00.000-06:00

One of my very favorite gifts was this red Kimono for Celia from Loren's brother and sister-in-law who are stationed in Japan. Thanks!

Our White Texas Christmas

2009-12-28T17:28:00.000-06:00

Some updates...

2009-12-20T22:13:00.002-06:00

Volleyball Playa ... cause that's how she rolls!

2009-06-13T09:43:00.001-05:00

Shout out to all the future Volleyballers! My friend made this incredible onesie (including several others) and I just LOVE it!!! Another friend made the flower...too cute! Thanks Syndee and Sonya!

More of Celia

2009-06-12T19:36:00.000-05:00

The Tornado

2009-06-12T19:30:00.000-05:00

Dinner was spent with the five of us (6 including Greta) sitting on pillows on the floor of our bathroom Wednesday evening, as a tornado touched down in Flower Mound and Lewisville hitting our neighborhood.

All of us headed out after the tornado to survey the damage. Our neighbors had tons of destruction; not only were very large trees uprooted from the ground, but most of our neighbor's fences came down, too. We survived with nothing but a few shingles ripped from our roof. We are extremely grateful... Thanks, Dad, for putting that new fence post in a year ago - if you hadn't, we probably would have been without a fence, now, too.

I took these that evening as I walked out our front door... I probably should have waited until daylight =)

Celia Janis 5.21.09 / 4:06 pm / 7lbs 1oz / 21.25 inches

2009-06-10T14:27:00.001-05:00

2009-06-10T14:25:00.000-05:00

Celia was born on May 21st....and we certainly love her!

2009-06-10T14:14:00.000-05:00

Museum of Nature and Science

2009-02-28T21:36:00.000-06:00

This is one of our very favorite places to go in Dallas. The kids have so much fun. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures while the kids were digging for dinosaur bones...they love playing in the sand!

2009-02-28T21:34:00.003-06:00

I've been featured on a Great Blog!

2009-01-26T22:31:00.003-06:00

Okay, so I have to admit, I get asked to give away free baby slings quite a bit. Lots of people with blogs want me to send them a free item for their review, and then also give a sling away on their site. I quite often ignore their emails, because I've (thankfully) been pretty busy without the extra traffic to my site.

Well, this great customer simply wrote a wonderful review about one of my slings after purchasing and wearing one for a few months, and so I was glad to be a part of her Giveaway. Check out what people are saying about my shop! I love it! And enter to win for yourself, (if you're too cheap to buy one from a friend/relative...lol, kind of...)

Guess what we found out a couple of weeks ago?

2009-01-01T19:45:00.000-06:00

Here is one of our first pics of the New Baby

2008-11-11T11:02:00.002-06:00

Within one week, Loren finished the purchase of his new Practice, I was called as Young Women's President, and we found out we were pregnant with our Third. It was a crazy week, but I'm counting on many more of those in the weeks ahead . . .

Due in May

It's kind of cold outside!!!!

2008-11-11T10:44:00.003-06:00

The weather is finally cooling down and the kids still love to play outside. They even got to wear winter hats (which they loved). Fisher is beginning to walk like a pro after three weeks of being very wobbly. He is also getting very fast much quicker than I remember with Gavry. He's just trying to keep up, I guess. I love that the boys are starting to play well with each other and Gavry even occasionally will let Fisher play with a toy . . . ;) But Gavry better watch out because Fisher is an excellent eater, and we don't think it will be too long before Fisher weighs more that Gav does!! Here are the best pics I could get yesterday (the rest were blurry 'cause those kids wouldn't hold still!)

The Inspiration

2008-11-01T10:46:00.002-05:00

Our SpongeBob Halloween

2008-11-01T09:37:00.003-05:00

After a few weeks of Gavry wanting to be a Blue Fish for Halloween, (and I, still not having made his costume), he decided he really wanted to be SpongeBob Squarepants. So at about 3:00 p.m. I ran and spent a whole $4.00 on 1 yard of yellow flannel and some felt . . . and voila . . . introducing SpongeBob Gavry!!!!!! Thanks to Loren for buiding the frame for the shoulders and squarepants! We had a great time and Gavry was surprisingly so happy to be walking around in that costume. By the end of our trick-or-treating, Gavry was a pro and would go up to the doors all by himself and proudly say, "Trick-or-Treat" and "Thank you!" It was a lot of fun and Fisher was a trooper for staying up well past his bedtime in a very warm puppy costume . . .

The very quick making of the costume . . .

2008-11-01T09:34:00.000-05:00

Notice all of the felt, scraps, glue guns and other materials all over our floor! I'm still picking up this morning!

Our Halloween Surprise

2008-11-01T09:30:00.000-05:00

As soon as Gavry got his costume on, kids starting coming to our door. Gavry handed out Krabby Patties Candy and Dum Dum Suckers (very fitting) and then we decided to head out ourselves to Trick-or-Treat. We left our bowl of candy behind a pumpkin on our porch so kids would see the candy only if they came all the way up to our door. After we spent some time going door to door, we came back to our house and this is what we found:

Yes, our candy bowl filled with Barbecue Sauce!!!! Only in Texas, right? I guess that was the trick for there being no candy left! We laughed pretty hard and thought it was a great trick! Good job, Scary Goblings!

BYU vs. Texas Volleyball

2008-10-25T14:16:00.007-05:00

So we decided to take a trip to Austin and see some good volleyball in person. After about a 4 hour trip with Fisher upset about half of the time, we arrived at the University of Texas. WOW!!! Can I just say, "Holy Crap! What would it have been like to go to a school with money!!!!!" First of all, the football stadium was gigantic, all of the buildings were beautiful and even the building which held the volleyball gymnasium looked more like you were entering a wonderful artsy library. So anyway, a dear friend and someone I admire much, Shay Goulding, is now the Head Women's Volleyball coach for BYU - (way to go Shay!). She has an excellent team and now coaches a player, Christina Measom, who I once coached back when she was just 13 (or 14). It was so fun to watch, although I'd much rather be playing. Gavry had a great time while the game was going on, and shortly after play ended (Texas victorious), Gav broke down and fake cried all the way until we shoveled some food down him. I miss volleyball a ton, but I am excited to think that we just might raise some athletes of our own . . .

p.s. yes, I've cut ALL of my hair off . . . reminds me of some old college days haircuts - but better, I hope!

The Homestead in Idaho

2008-09-21T14:05:00.003-05:00

Here we are at Loren's Grandparents house in Idaho. This was the last leg of our trip and the kids had so much fun wondering around the Homestead. (Gavry could have stayed there forever). Here Gavry is with Great Grandpa Pond picking (just kidding, I learned my lesson, you say, "digging" when talking about potatoes) some veggies from the garden. And these are some of our favorites by the creek, feeding the llamas, Fisher eating his first apple fresh from a tree, and Fisher and Great-Grandmom. Thanks to Aunt Nola and Vallie and the rest of the fam for spending the evening with us!

Guess who had a Birthday??

2008-09-21T13:41:00.003-05:00

Loren is 28! We had a great day, we went out to eat in the morning, then packed all of the kids to the movies in the evening, (Loren watched Ironman, finally, and Gav and I watched Kung Fu Panda, and Fisher slept). Hey, at least we were all in the same building, right? Then we came home and had a quadruple chocolate cake . . . yeah, it was pretty good. Gavry sang, "Happy Birthday Daddy", all day long, we even got it on video. He sang it the next day too . . . and the next day to Greta. Cute boy.

My husband, the Doctor!!!!!!

2008-09-21T13:24:00.004-05:00

Loren graduated on August 16th and is currently going through all of the final processes to receive his license. It will be so great to finally have his Open House at his New Office!!!!!! Meanwhile, here are some pics of our celebrations . . . Thanks to Chuck, Andrea, and Ruby for joing us!

So I guess it is kind of big news . . .

2008-07-20T17:15:00.003-05:00

After two weeks of being excited about our big news, I figured that it was time to tell everyone. No, we're not pregnant again. We have decided that the blessings that have come since we've been here in Texas are just too great to leave behind. Well, especially since two of those blessings are our sons. The other one is our house!!!!!!!! So, Loren is under contract to purchase a practice the first of October. He will then be the proud new owner of Community Chiropractic. Pretty cool, right? So if you haven't caught on, we're staying here in our beloved Lewisville, Texas. You know, I'm forgetting the things that I didn't like about Texas. In fact, let me tell you what I LOVE about our lives here.
*Our pool which we take the kids to is AMAZING! (I need to post some pics later) And, can I tell you? 90 degrees just doesn't feel as hot to me as it used to. Last summer I was pregnant . . . it seemed hotter then.
*We have also made some great friends, and have found our niche in the Ward Family, (I LOVE the women in our ward, some of my favorites are twice my age!)
*I love my church calling!! Being a R. S. Teacher is wonderful. I love to teach, and I love that I can call on people, by name, to make comments, because I KNOW them.
*I also love owning a home, (which may not have happened anywhere else!). I love that I have a sewing room. (Loren laughs when I call it that, because he says, "Isn't every room in the house your sewing room?") Sometimes.
*And, well, I have all the best fabric stores and factories here to succeed in my little business.

Thanks, Texas, for treating us well.

Fourth of July

2008-07-11T12:50:00.003-05:00

A friend of mine took these pictures of Gavry at our Church on the Fourth. We had a big breakfast and then all of the kids decorated their bikes and paraded around the parking lot. It was pretty fun. Gavry walked (he wasn't feeling well), but he managed to pop two balloons and thought it was hilarious. We heard about it the whole rest of the day . . .

Some pictures channeling 1990's photography . . .

2008-06-16T23:17:00.005-05:00

Seriously, don't these pictures look like they were from a film camera. You know, when you weren't sure what kind of picture you were going to get when you developed it. I don't know, for the life of me, how families get their kids to not only smile for the camera at the same time but just to LOOK at the camera at the same time. Here's, once again, the best I could get. These were taken to have some pics to send our Fathers for Father's Day.

And here are some of our rejects. That came out wrong. I'm not calling our sons "rejects", just simply saying these were some of the rejected pictures . . . meaning not for print, only for laughs.

This one's my favorite. I think he's mocking me.

Camping in the Backyard

2008-06-16T23:05:00.003-05:00

Loren once again missed the father-son campout due to his Boards in May. But this was nothing that some s'mores and a gas stove couldn't fix. We ate s'mores until we felt sick, and when it got dark Gavry said "I see the moon. It's dark, have to go inside now." So we did. No one but the bugs slept in the tent.

I almost adopted another dog!!!

2008-05-10T15:15:00.006-05:00

So we went to IKEA this morning and a dog adoption crew was there with a few dogs and I fell in LooooVE with one of them! He was a shepherd and hound mix and was only four months old and huge!! Loren told me NO, but I wanted to take him home with us soooooo bad. What's my deal? Half the time we want to get rid of Greta (our minnie pinnie) but the thought of this huge dog with her just put a smile on my face. Loren said AFTER we close on our next house we can adopt a dog. Why does he always have to be so practical? I know it was the right decision, but the dog was just so freaking cute!!!!!!!! It had the softest fur I think I've ever felt on a dog. Loren laughed at me because I want another puppy, he says, "we just had another baby, can't you just play with him - he's like a puppy, except he poops in a diaper not on the floor." He's right, I've got enough poops to clean up. Speaking of . . . .

p.s. this is actually the picture of the dog from Operation Kindness. Wouldn't you want him too?

Favorite photo this week

2008-05-07T21:57:00.000-05:00

I was using Fisher as a prop for some photos of items I've made for my website, and I just had to zoom in on this photo. Doesn't he look soooooo cute? He was staring out the window and I just love his big eyes! I'm NOT a photographer, obviously, but it's fun to play with the editing tools on even the most simplest of programs. Why are babies sooooooo cute?!!!!

Going on safari

2008-05-07T21:30:00.000-05:00

Gavry just assumes there is going to be a flash with all pictures. I just can't seem to get him to open his eyes!

This one is Loren's favorite.

Fisher loves to pea in the pod

2008-04-26T18:52:00.002-05:00

Happy, happy happy. Thanks for the darling outfit, Kim!
Loves to stick out his tongue.I'm jealous of my boy's eyelashes!

The park we love

2008-04-26T18:42:00.002-05:00

Loren and Fisher were hiding out from the wind.
Gavry loves to swing and is almost able to do it all by himself.

He ran straight to the volleyball net and said, "where Momma plays!" Funny, because I never play here. He looks good by the net, doesn't he? Won't be long . . .

Our March Snow

2008-04-26T18:31:00.002-05:00

The most snow Gavry has ever seen.

Gavry's first snow person

Cold rosy cheeks

Fisher Lately

2008-04-26T17:56:00.004-05:00

Figured I'd better post some more of Fisher. Here's a cute one in the tub with his big bro.

Stripes and plaid are in, right?

2008-04-18T22:45:00.000-05:00

They really don't look alike, huh?

Grandma Erickson came to visit last week, and
we miss her already!

Gavry's 2nd Birthday

2008-04-18T22:27:00.000-05:00

We had strawberry cupcakes when we got home from church . . .

Then we decided to have dinner . . .

more birthday photos

2008-04-18T22:26:00.001-05:00

Then Gavry took a nap . . . and changed clothes . . .

Then got a tricycle, which he seemed to really like . . .

2008-04-18T22:25:00.000-05:00

Can you tell how much he liked it?

But he did love trying to blow out the candle!

And finally got it, much to his dismay.

My favorite photo lately

2008-04-18T22:12:00.000-05:00

Gavry was up in our tree and decided after about
two seconds that he was scared. Enter Dad to the rescue.
Love the shadows on their faces.

The Mavs Game

2008-02-17T17:58:00.003-06:00

We celebrated Valentine's on Wednesday the 13th this year. See, Loren and I made a goal two years ago that we would like to see at least one game of each of the pro sports teams here in Dallas. Well, we only have six months left here in Texas and hadn't been to any. So Loren got us tickets to the Mavericks! They played the Trailblazers and stomped 'em 96-76, I believe. We had a blast, partly due to the fact that we had no kids with us! Wow, it was like a real date! Loren even treated us to buffalo chicken burgers and four dollar cokes! Then we headed up to the nosebleeds. Ain't it great to be the salt of the earth?

mom's night out

2008-02-12T18:35:00.000-06:00

I left Loren for a few hours with the kiddies and had some me-time. It was great, but I was happy to be home to my little guy.

Gavry lately

2008-02-04T13:22:00.000-06:00

This is what Gavry has been up to: drinking lots and lots of chocolate milk, running like crazy around our house, and playing baseball on the Wii.

LOST started again!

2008-02-03T01:38:00.001-06:00

Did you all watch it? It was great. But I have to tell you a story first. Leave it to Tiffany to ruin a good night. So, it was 7:00pm, Gavry should have been being put to sleep (in bed, not like a dog), but his parents were lazy, so we put on a Toy Story for him in the other room and told him to keep quiet. Fisher was fed and about to fall asleep. We turned on LOST. And, it was a clip show to catch up all of those people who haven't been watching from the beginning. We're glad you've joined us, but watching netflix is cheating, come on. Anyway, we didn't want to watch it so we decided to go get ice cream . . . and we NEVER go get ice cream. We bundled up the little ones and headed to Marble Slab. I made my choice of flavor quickly, but of course, Loren couldn't decide. I said, I want caramel with fudge brownie." He said, "I think you've nailed it." So we ordered the big one and took a seat. (Is it okay if I switch to third person now?) Tiff had a bite. Loren had a bite. "Tiff, there are nuts in it."

"No there aren't. I would know by now if there were."

"Yes, there are."

"No there aren't." Tiff takes another bite. "Oh man, go get the benedryl!"

Loren dashes out to the car. No benedryl. Meanwhile, Tiff complains that there are nuts in the brownies and asks for a different scoop. They oblige nicely. Tiff can feel her throat swelling. (Back to first person) We book it out of there each having our own ice cream now. To home. To take benedryl. To get sleepy. To contemplate going to the emergency room for the beloved epinephrine shot. But we made it through the season premier of LOST finally, with belly aches. Seriously, just go buy some Blue Bell ice cream and sit at home. Going out for ice cream stinks. LOST was good though, right?

Two boys are better than one

2008-02-03T00:58:00.000-06:00

Gavry loves his little brother, Shisher. We are so happy to be blessed with another boy (Fisher). They are twenty months apart and it just doesn't seem close enough. We'll have to work a little harder next time. Well, that probably won't be the case since Loren asked me as we were making our New Year's Resolutions, "can we please not have a kid in 2008?" I told him I thought the plan was to have one kid a year for five years. Then he said, "can I at least have a job when we get pregnant the next time?" I'll have to think about it.