Family...

Okay... the long awaited holiday pic are here. We got back from the farm in Washington today. We had a great time. Jeremiah and Alison loved playing with their cousins. It was nice and cold though! It is so beautiful up there! Jeremiah is in love Bella! She is Elizabeth's, Dan's fiance, dog. We stayed for two nights at her place in Issaquah, before heading up north and Jeremiah could not wait for us to get there. He followed her around and played with here the whole time. Alison also enjoyed Bella...she squealed with excitement often. We didn't do much but relax and enjoy family. John and I thought we would take the kids to the famous Krispy Kremes for a doughnut and needless to say, our bodies were definately not used to the garbage that is in those things! Josh and Meghan were quite the pair to play against as John and I tried to beat them at a friendly game of poker last night....thanks for the laughs I think my sides and cheeks are going to hurt for a few days! We had a safe journey home, although a long one. Alison snacked on her toes towards the end! We love you all (Thorndikes) and thank you for the fun and memories.

Keep praying for my brother. He is on his way to Nashville as I type...he is still in need of safe travels, funds for food and fuel and direction!

Side-note....CONGRATS! My friend Kailee and her man Jeremy are recently engaged! We love you and are excited for you!

Happy New Year to all. We pray for God's direction and peace in your lives!

Snow......and slush!

Hello all! We are currently in the Seattle area visiting family so I'm sorry I don't have any great Christmas pics to post today! We hope you all had safe and happy holiday times! We had a good time with our eastern Oregon family, although we did not have a white Christmas..:( Thankfully Jeremiah was able to see real snow last night as we traveled over the Snoqualmie Pass! It is truly beautiful here. Have a great weekend recovering from the holiday and have a safe and happy new year!

Encore!

Yes, ladies and gentleman, the "screw" aka bolt has made it's encore presentation! Jeremiah sucessfully delivered it this evening with no pain or discomfort. His is doing great and I am happy for nature to take it's course.

You ate WHAT???

So today, just as I was about to post a new blog about the last few days, my son, sweet-intelligent Jeremiah, started screaming. I ran to see what happened and he said with tears and slobber all over, "Mom I ate a screw!". "What??" I asked in disbelief. "A screw, I ate a screw!" I asked where he got the screw from and evidently he had taken one out of a step-stool he had. I looked and looked and sure enough, I could not find a screw. I called our fantastic doctor and rushed him over to Walla Walla(that's where the doc is). After a picture of his belly, it was confirmed, he had eaten a bolt. It is about 1 1/2 inches in length and we hope to see it on the other side soon!

Here are some pics: On our way to see Dr. Buldoc, happ in the office, just had and x-ray and telling daddy the news.

Alison's ONE!

Yesterday was Alison's 1st birthday! John and I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. It feels like yesterday she was just a tiny little baby. We had a great day. We spent the morning at home and just played. Jeremiah was my little helper in the kitchen. He put on one of my apron's and helped my decorate Alison's pink cupcakes. His method was the typical, one for me, a few for the cupcake, a few more for me! Later that morning John found him under the kitchen table with the whole bottle having a "snack"! We had a little party for Ali and some family and friends joined us. She enjoyed opening her presents, but I think she loved the cupcake more! She dove right into it like there was no tomorrow! The cupcake, unfortunately, made an encore presentation on the kitchen floor later that night -ewe! thank goodness our kids don't eat much sugar!

Please be in prayer for our families. John's mom is having a little procedure right before Christmas and she needs a quick recovery and a stress free holiday. My mom just had gallbladder surgery and is feeling very uncomfortable and also needs a speedy recovery. Finally, my brother is moving at the end of the month (boo-whoo!) and needs a safe journey to Nashville and also that God would continue to provide the finances to get there and sustain him once he settles.

Please remember to have a relaxed holiday. I know that it sounds like an oxymoron, but really. remember that a little baby was born just for you, just to save your life. Spend your time with the things that matter, God, family and friends.

We love you all, God Bless!

SNOW...

It has been bitterly cold! The snow bits are finally disappearing after days of lingering. Nothing to exciting here. Jeremiah and Alison have had some sleep issues the last day or so..like not wanting to sleep. Hopefully, though we will have a nice quiet weekend.

Snow, snow, snow...

"I'll build a man of snow..." I love watching the White Christmas every year and hoping for snow on that wonderful morning! It is very late right now and as I sit and check my email it is quietly snowing outside. It has been snowing and then melting, off and on all day. I love the snow. It comes quietly and lights up even the darkest of nights. Speaking of night, I should "...get some shut-eye, go to sleep and dream of snow. Snow. Snow!"(have you figured out the song yet? Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney..and Danny K!)

Stuffed...

We have survived the Thanksgiving gluttony! We spent the day at my parent's house with 15 other people(yikes!) and it was really fun. I always love putting on my apron and getting in to the cooking. It's too bad that my dad and my brother both had to work, poo-whoo. Jeremiah played out in the freezing cold wind until I made him come in! I have had the opportunity to catch up with some good friends and family and I'm ready for Christmas. Actually, I have already put up our tree and decorated much or our house! Jeremiah and Alison both "helped". now if it would just stop raining, we could play in all those beautiful leaves!

Ready, Set, EAT!

Thanksgiving is only a few days away! There is always so much to be thankful for. We are thankful for a few things: God, our family, friends, church, jobs, small group, football, falling leaves, coffee, vanilla creamer...:) We hope all of you and your families have a great holiday!

Seasons have definately changed...

It's been a few days since we've posted...sorry. In the last few days we haven't done too many exciting things. John has been busy working. I've been busy chasing the children! I was able to attend a scrapbooking retreat at Wallowa Lake last weekend and it was very refreshing! John promises he had a good time with the kids and it was obvious that the 'favorite' parent is John...Alison wanted nothing to do with me when I returned! Alison took her first steps the other night, of course while I was gone! She is cruising all over the place! We are getting ready for the holidays and we will be spending them with my parents and family. We had originally planned to go to the mountains with some friends to their cabin but circumstances changed! We hope everyone has a blessed holiday season this year. It will be wonderful to see all the many things God has planned for us in the coming months.

Oh Sweet Autumn!

I love the fall...have I mentioned that our family LOVES the fall? It is so funny how the weather looks so cold and windy and then you step outside and it is warm! I love it!
We have been good. The kids are getting over their colds..hopefully. Nothing else too exciting here, though!

Halloween.....

Oh my, we had so much fun last night! It was Mom's birthday and so we headed over to their house for a little fun. We dressed the kids up for Nana and Papa and they had a blast. John took Jeremiah to a few other houses in the neighborhood and he loved it. We basically told him that since it was Nana's birthday we dressed up and were having a party where there was lots of candy! We had a really great time and he loved playing with our friends Katie and Kyle. Dan and Natalie came by with Cali and Cole and they all had such a good time. My Dad dressed up and looked like a cross between Flava Flav and a 70's basketball player! It was *classic*!

Cabin Fever

We have had a bad case of Cabin Fever the last couple of days. Jeremiah has just wanted to play outside and it has been too cold in the morning to go out. We also didn't have a playdate this week so I think he is getting a little sick of Mom and sister! We went over to Papa and Nana's last night for some delicious grub and he rode is 4 wheeler until it died (the batteries, I mean)! He and Nana had a blast making cookies too!(Nana needs to email me the pics :D) Hopefully with the harvest party that we will be attending this weekend he will be good!

Please continue to keep us in your prayers, Alison is just not getting rid of her icky cold. She's been a bit miserable...

Later this morning....

So Dad and Mom just got back from a weekend with Gramma, Aunt Bobbie, Aunt Tata(Tonja) and Heather (poor daddy, so much estrogen...Too little testosterone!). Anyway, Jeremiah wanted to go play on his 4 wheeler at Papa's so we called him up and invited ourselves over this morning. Dad was going to burn some leaves and do a few things around the yard. Needless to say, by the time we got there, Dad had put the "big fire", as Miah was calling it, out. I think Jeremiah was only sad for about 2 seconds and then realized that he could still ride his 4 wheeler! He kept himself entertained while we visited. Alison had a snack of apples and leaves while Miah played, though. She is so cute! It will be fun to see how she becomes her own person these next few months...

It has been brought to our attention that many are wondering if we will have more children....Never fear, we do hope to have more! We haven't decided exactly when, but I would like for Alison to be at least a year old before we start on the next one. That being said, I am going to be working hard on my Arbonne business. If you don't know what Arbonne is, then you need to email me so you can start supporting our family! If you do know what it is, please email me your orders ASAP! Actually now is a really good time to order Arbonne because we have some really great items only available during the holidays and there are some fantastic gift ideas!

until later.....

This morning...

This morning has been a little relaxed. Yesterday John was home sick and the kids an I had to go to Walla Walla for some doctor appointments. We spent all afternoon just hanging out. It was kinda nice to have the hubby stuck at home! This morning though, we were off to our usual day. John went to work, Jeremiah watched some cartoons and Alison tore into anything insight! Her poor little runny nose isn't slowing her down. My work is never done!

Oh, the weekend.....

This weekend was nothing too special. Friday I took the kids over to Walla Walla and we met up with John for lunch. We did a little grocery shopping at the health food store and then I took the kids to the park for a while. Jeremiah loves Pioneer park. He likes to chase the squirrels and look for the ducks. We spent some time on the swings and had a good giggle or two! Later that night, Alison and I went over to our friend Natalie's house to have a girls night and scrapbook while the boys stayed at our house and had Dan and Cole over to watch a fight and eat pizza. Natalie and I had a good time eating a healthy dinner of Tofu and Veggie stir-fry, - my first tofu experience and let me just say, not too shabby!

Saturday John had to work in Walla Walla, again - but I love that overtime on the paycheck! The kids and I went out to Dan and Nat's to play and work a little. Their place is really looking great. They have done some really nice work.

Sunday we took the family to church and had a really good time. Pastor Carney's message was one that really hit home for me. He spoke about being in the wilderness and a passage in Exodus. He also talked about how God only gives us what we need for that day and if we try to stock up that it's gonna start to rot and stink. Basically, we need to be in God's word and prepared to hear from Him each morning. Just listening to our radio or watching a sermon during the week on tv is not going to sustain us. I really appreciated the message because I have really been thinking about how to make my walk in Christ stronger and in what areas of my life and our family we need to do a little "clean-up"(as if there are any perfect areas!).
Anyway, Jeremiah and I rapped up the day by playing a little in the front yard and having a leaf-throwing fight! It was awesome!

Please be praying for our family this fall and winter. It is a terribly time for our kids as Jeremiah is highly prone to Croup and Alison is starting to show similar signs. They are tough kids but we know that they can be healthy with prayer and faith!

Until next time.........

First post...yea!!!!!!!!

Okay, so I got this idea from my friend Angie (thank you Angie!) and I thought it would be nice to have a place for our family to visit and see what we have been up to. The kids are growing SO fast and it is very hard to be sure everyone gets to see the latest pics or hear the latest story. Now you can all just read about us and our so very exciting lives at your own leisure! I hope it is enjoyable for all of you and it is a little less advertised than myspace...yea! We love you all and look forward to your comments...the Oregon Thorndikes :0)