Making laundry a little more fun

It's not that I dislike laundry.  I simply dislike the never-ending nature of it.  Then again, the fact that the "dirty" basket is full before the "clean" basket even gets folded and put away means I have a home full of sweet little dirty-laundry-makers.  For that I am forever grateful!  And after a fun weekend project (last weekend - you didn't really expect me to prompt updating the blog did you?), I now have a more pleasant place in which to do all of that sorting, pre-treating, transferring, hanging, folding, ironing and steaming.  It's still ultimately a glorified closet, but it now feels a little more like a room.  All it took was a little paint (leftover from two houses ago... not sure why we were still hanging on to that can),  a hand-me-down mirror that's been hanging out in our garage for three years waiting for the perfect home, a Malawian trash basket rescued from a hidden existence underneath our desk, a cracker jar from a birthday party, and a new curtain from Cost Plus that I'd been admiring for a while.  Total cost?  $35 for the curtain and rod and a few hours sacrificing brain cells to paint fumes.  Small price to make this constant chore a little less of well... a chore!

We're still here...

 Anyone else suffer from blogger guilt?  When I started this thing we were in the midst of adopting Reagan, which meant there was always some update or non-news to report.  Over time it evolved into the journal of a normal family doing normal stuff, with more than a few trips to Disneyland thrown in for fun.  It got a little more exciting when we started the adoption process again, and then... well it seems as if I've run out of stuff to say.  Life is full and busy in (usually) wonderful ways, and hasn't left much time over for blogging.  I'm not giving up just yet - and I hope to have another adoption story to share someday - but for now you'll have to be happy with more photos of my favorite kids.  And I'm going to set the guilt aside!

Nine and six days

'Tis the season of birthdays... and thanksgiving of course.  Which is why I'm already almost a week late with Alyssa's b-day post.  Well over half of our extended family member were born in the last third of the year, so lately it's been party after party.  In a rare departure from our family-only dinners of 30+, we also let our newly-minted nine-year old host her first-ever sleepover.  The giggles and whispers from a roomful of sweet little girls brought as much joy to this mama's heart as it did to the birthday girl herself.  Our biggest baby is clearly no longer a baby at all.  We have been so blessed through parenting the easiest infant, the softest-hearted toddler, the most-confident young school-girl, and the most beautiful, mature, nurturing young lady we've ever met.  She certainly has her flaws - the most noticeable being those that reflect the sins and nature of her mama - but even in light of those she is a joy.  Happy birthday babe! 

A few more cute kids...

Or rather, the same cute kids over and over again!  We accidentally showed up an hour early to our home school group's annual trip to the pumpkin farm - which turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  The kids don't particularly like to pose for photos (with the exception of Alyssa who seems to like it a little too much), and they dislike it even more when there are friends around to play with.  A lack of such distractions meant that mama, children and camera all enjoyed the field trip! 

The obligatory costume post

Anyone who's on facebook is surely tired of such photos by now, but since this clearly is a blog for which the posting suits primarily me, here they are!  Themes are obviously a thing of the past.  Someone suggested we might have been going for a past, present, future theme; it was really more about what was in the closet and what was in stock at Goodwill.  The exception of course is Alyssa's outfit which was lovingly fabricated by her grandma and reflects her current fascination with prairie girls (not homeschooling conventions).   Over the past 5 days we've attended no less than 4 carnival-type events, so we have had more than our fair share of cotton candy, dunk tanks, bounce houses, kettle corn, face-painting and everything else fun and fall-ish.  Last night the kids came home with over 17 pounds of candy!  They choose about 9 pounds worth of "favorites" and we took the rest to a candy exchange program at a local dentist (if I could remember which of you bloggy friends first mentioned this I'd give you credit!).  The kids received cash, bags of sugarless treats, and the opportunity to thank many of our service men and women (in person and via thank you notes) in exchange for their less-loved sweets, which will soon be shipped to our military personnel overseas.  It was a really fun way for them to give a little of what they got.  So how about you?  Do you have any great ideas for dealing with the mountains of candy?  Were your kids any cuter than mine?  I hereby give you permission to continue to fill up the blogging world and facebook with scores of costumed kiddos.   

five



Here's taking a little break from my unexpected and unexplainable blogging hiatus to honor my new favorite 5 year-old!  Though I wasn't in Vietnam to celebrate Reagan's birth in 2006, our hearts rejoice every day for the gift God gave us through a woman who chose life for her baby girl.  We have been indescribably blessed by our "little one" who is still oh-so-petite in stature but is becoming quite a little lady.  She is undoubtedly the most generous child I've ever known.  When we asked her what she wanted for her birthday she said she'd have to check with Alyssa and Parker to see what they would like so she could share.  She routinely asks if she can be last and is always giving up her seat, toys and treats to anyone who asks - or even just shows interest!  But lest anyone try to take advantage of her sweetness or her size, she also has backbone in spades.  Reagan's not afraid to stand up for what she thinks is right or defend herself against an overpowering sibling or two.  She's enjoying kindergarten, making some dear little friends, gaining confidence and winning our hearts over again every day. 

When I think back to all the people in Vietnam that told us what a lucky baby she was, I wish I could go back and convince them that the blessing has truly been ours.  Happy Birthday baby girl!   

Summer flashback

School, and most other fall activities, are back in full swing, so it doesn't really feel like summer anymore (aside from the 100-degree temps that is), but recalling our last beach hurrah with friends makes it seem not quite so far away.  To be honest, it was also our first beach hurrah this summer.  I know, I'm a terrible mother.  We live less than an hour from the most magnificent of oceans, but we rarely wet our toes in its saltiness.  Seeing how much the kids enjoyed it makes me want to go more, but then the sand... oh the sand!  It's everywhere.  It's still everywhere!  And then I relive the joy on these faces and wonder if it might be worth it...          

This is probably my favorite picture of the summer.  I was really only trying to get a shot of Reagan, but ended up with all three of my favorite children, with each of their personalities on full display.  Reagan, as always, is contentedly fetching water for her own little sand creation, blissfully unaware of the water dribbling out of the enormous gap in the side of her bucket.  Just boogie boarding isn't daring enough for Parker.  He has to throw his own little twist into the sport, neverminding the potential for injury.  And Alyssa, ever the rule-follower, is here in the background with a sweet friend, enjoying the toys and water in the way they were intended to be used.  Every once in a while my camera actually catches more than I was hoping for!  This photo makes me smile every time I see it.