15 Years Ago Tonight

15 years ago tonight we welcomed our second son into our family. We thought he was so beautiful with all that hair.


Han became a big brother.

Han loved his baby brother. He was very protective of him. If anyone held Obi, he would cry until they gave him back to us. When Obi was in his car seat, Han would lean over Obi with his body so people couldn't see him. He wasn't jealous, just always wanting to protect his baby. Everywhere we went, Han would say, "Let's take the baby!" Which meant that when we went to a different room, including the bathroom, we had to take the baby with us!

Obi loved his big brother. When he got old enough to talk, the first thing he said every morning is, "Where's Han?"

We are thankful for Obi and his life in our family. He keeps us laughing and wondering what he will do next!

17 Years Ago Today

I never wanted to have children. I was going to have a career and make something of myself. Children did not fit into this plan. After I graduated from college I was accepted into a Master's Degree program in Physical Therapy. Life was good. Three and a half months into my two year program I discovered I was pregnant. Hubby and I were both terrified and a bit distraught. We had no idea what we were going to do. We were poor college students and children were not in the plan. And going to any type of medical school while pregnant is a very bad idea. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. My imagination ran wild my entire pregnancy.

When Han was born, I was absolutely exhausted after 40 hours of labor. I was just relieved he was born and I was NEVER going to go through that again. I didn't even get a good look at him before they took him to the nursery to care for him. I didn't mind at all. I was just relieved it was over.

However, a few hours later they brought this little guy in to see me.

And I was a goner. I thought he was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. I couldn't believe he was my baby. How could this amazing little guy be mine?

Every ounce of ambition in my body fled and all I wanted was to be a momma to this little guy. Truly the best day of my life was when I became a mom to this little guy and the others that followed.

I can not believe that he is 17 years old. It is my privilege to be this young man's mom. I only wish it wasn't going so fast.

Leia's 9th Birthday

Leia's birthday was one month ago today. That is how far behind I am with my blog. Better late than never, so here is her birthday in pictures.

She had a few friends over to celebrate. Here they all are after opening gifts. Nice girls who are good friends.

And after the nice pictures, they always want a crazy one. Sometimes I like the crazy pictures the best! Leia is horse crazy and wanted a horse cake. And she loves the color green. So this is what I came up with for her cake.

She loved it!

And the pinata is always lots of fun, especially when a big brother is holding it up and moving the stick every time the girls took a swing.

Our once girly girl is no more. She wanted a squirt gun/water balloon fight for her birthday. Which is what her brothers always had when they were younger. Here is a picture of the water balloon fight. There were no boys allowed, so there were no tears. If you have boys, you know what I am talking about.

The squirt gun fight was also a success.

Leia had a wonderful birthday. We are so blessed to have her as our daughter. She is a lovely little girl who is growing up way too fast. Blessings to her on the next year of her life.

Ultimatum

Before we moved to Colorado, our boys had never heard of Ultimate Frisbee. The first time they were invited to play, I was completely surprised at how much fun they had. It has become their favorite past time and our weekly schedule usually centers around them playing several times. Some friends started an official league and both of the older boys are on a team called Ultimatum. Obi is the captain and they put this team together to play in the league. They are currently undefeated and heading for the semifinals next week.

I still don't understand all the rules, but we have lots of fun watching them play. The little girls and a couple of other little siblings call the team Ultamato and we have lots of fun listening to them yell "Go Ultamato!" at the games.

Their team color is orange and they have taken to painting their faces before games as well as wearing as much orange as they can. Here is their team picture.

And a picture of them roaring.

Obi just prior to catching the Frisbee during a recent game.

This picture of Obi in air reaching for the Frisbee just cracks me up. It shows that Ultimate can be a bit of a physical game and explains some of the injuries that have occurred. And the two players to Obi's left are both girls, who play hard and don't back down.

Han Solo, Ultimate Frisbee Warrior

Homeschool Prom 2010

When we first moved to Colorado, our boys did not know how to dance and they were not in the least interested in learning how. However, the group of teens here love to dance. And as time went on, they missed out on a lot of events because they didn't dance. So this year when Prom time rolled around, they wanted to be ready. They had their clothes purchased and they got some dancing lessons.

The Homeschool Prom is not a dating event. The parent is the date, and it is meant as a family event. I had the privilege of going with both my older boys to the prom. Here are a few pictures of the night.

Han ready in his spiffy clothes.

Obi looking handsome in his.

There was a catered dinner prior to the dancing. Here are the boys sitting at their table.

Here is the group of teens that attended the homeschool prom this year. You can see that there are twice as many girls as boys, so the boys were in great demand as dance partners.

I took more video than pictures and I didn't get the best pictures, but here are a few. This is Obi during one of the many Civil War Ball dances that they learned.

Here is Han dancing with one of the girls who taught him to dance.

After the Prom ended, most of the group, along with parents, went to IHOP for more fun. Both Obi and Han had a great time. They didn't want the night to end, and I agreed. I also had a lot of fun and I loved watching the boys dance. It was a successful night overall and we are already looking forward to next year!

Copy Cat

Obi and Yoda are great buddies. And Obi likes to play games with Yoda and teach him new things. Here is a recent copycat session.

They crack me up! Hopefully Obi will teach him some useful things as he gets older!

Long Absence

You may have noticed a rather lengthy absence in my blogging lately. Many things have happened the past three months and I have kind of lost my heart for blogging. My dad has been very sick since Good Friday and I ended up taking my kids home to see him and was gone for 4 weeks, which ended up being most of the month of May. Since returning home I haven't been able to get back in the grove and get us back into a routine. Summer has been crazy and I am going to try and jump back in and get going again. I am planning on going back and blogging about some of the good things that have been going on, and about our trip home. So there is a little update and plans for the summer. Hopefully I will get on track and blogging again!

Read the Bible in 90 Days Summer Challenge

Amy at Mom's Toolbox is hosting another Challenge to read the Bible in 90 days. I so thoroughly enjoyed doing it the first time earlier this year that I have decided to join the challenge again. It was a great experience and I learned a tremendous amount. Reading it fast made certain aspects jump out at me that I had never realized before. And having the accountability was also very helpful. I have actually missed not knowing exactly what I was supposed to be reading every day for my devotions. So today is the first day of the challenge. I will try and blog once a week and report how it is going for me. The first time I accepted the challenge, my two oldest boys read with me and helped me be accountable. This time I will be looking to the online community for support and some good discussions. So Happy Reading and looking forward to what God has to teach me this time!