Last Snow Fall of the Winter?

We woke up to snow on January 26th. It was enough to cover the ground, make some good snow balls, and send Kennedy and Jack outside before breakfast.

Family Time

Recently we had a chance to get away with the fam.

Kennedy and Dad enjoyed reading by the fire.

The boys cuddled up and watched a show about welding. It was cold outside, but that didn't stop us from going outside.
While Michael was sleeping, I took the older children for a walk in the brisk air.

I love how Jackson finds joy in simple things. Here he stopped to make a tiny snowball.

Welcoming Michael

Last week we found out that our nephew, Michael, will be adopted into our family.

While we welcome him with open arms and are joyful that he will be our son and the brother to our other children, we are very aware of the emotions of his grandparents who had also wanted to adopt him.

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We will continue to maintain a good relationship with Mikey's grandparents and correspond with them through visits, mail, e-mail, and of course this blog.

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If you think about it, please pray for our families as we both adjust to our new roles.

Experiencing Top Pot

If you ask Harrison what his favorite foods are, we is quick to reply, "Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and donuts."

Not good, I know, but he's four and we are working on him.

Recently the children and I were watching The Travel Channel and a program came on about the best donut shops in America. Of course, knowing that it would especially interest our little Hair Bear, we had to watch. To our surprise, one of the donut shops featured was Seattle's own Top Pot Donuts. We had eaten their donuts at Starbucks, but never visited the store. Through the program we learned about the two founders of the company, the architecture (the designer of the original building was also the architect who designed the Space Needle) , and of course the "handforged" uniqueness of their specialty donuts.

As an educator, I couldn't pass up an opportunity for a field trip...nothing like hands on learning. So after watching the new president being sworn in on Tuesday, we headed to Seattle to check out Top Pot for ourselves.

Jackson had the Inauguration Donut and Harrison opted for the Pink Boa.

Ken and Kennedy shared a couple different varieties while we ordered the plain cake donut for Mikey.

The sign originally read, "Topspot" but on the way to have the sign refurbished, the "S" fell off, leaving it "Top Pot." The kiddos thought this was too funny.

Supporting the New Commander in Chief

Just before sitting down to blog about the inauguration today, I read my friend's blog entry on the subject. She put into words exactly what I was thinking. Since she is much more eloquent than myself, I am just going to quote her.

"I didn't vote for Obama. However, he has my full support now as I hope he does by other people who did not give him their vote. Support doesn't have to equal endorsement...but he is our president now and I don't understand anyone wanting to see him fail at the expense of our country just to be able to say "I told you so." I will be praying for his wisdom and for those that surround him and advise him during his presidency. I'm anxious to see what he does and fascinated by the renewed enthusiasm for our country and the political scene."

Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches

We had a rough few days here at our house. The boys and I were sick with the flu. When I just wanted to cuddle up in bed and rest, I needed to give baths, clean toilets, change diapers, etc. I was so thankful for my mother-in-law taking Kennedy for the day so that she was not exposed to the sick germs. Then Ken came home with it. While the little boys and I are better now, it is my poor hubby's turn. At least he can cuddle up in bed and rest.

As I was planning for this week's meals, I came across a recipe for grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches in the "Healthy" section of allrecipes.com. Sounded simple. I needed simple. We had these for lunch today. Make it on whole wheat bread and add a glass of milk and in one easy-to-make meal, you have hit on 4 of the main food groups! Hey, serve it with carrots or celery and you've hit on five! I also read that this was one of Elvis Presley's favorite meals.

Let me know if you try it!

One of Our Favorite Places With One of Our Favorite People

Today we visited my grandparents in West Seattle. They are preparing for their winter hiatus in Arizona and we wanted to see them one more time before they leave. We walked to Bubbles; the local bubble tea shop.Gram and the clan

Kiki and Gram enjoying their beveragesThe shop is very small; only one couch and a couple chairs. We took advantage of the space though and finished our beverages inside the shop.Mikey's first bubble tea experience. He loved it!I love public art that is functional for children. Jack stopped to climb the anchor at one of the look-out parks along the way.

Kennedy stopped and tried to climb most of the trees along the way.

We were glad for a break in the rain today. Our walk along Alki was perfectly beautiful. I am just sorry that we will have to wait until spring to enjoy our next walk with Gram.

It's book time before bed time for the little super heroes after a long day of play.

Do they even look tired?

Celebrating the December and January Kiddos...Mickey D's Style

Last weekend we joined Ken's family to celebrate the December (Michael and Jackson) and January (Ava) birthdays. It was the easiest family gathering we had ever done. After joining up to watch Cousin Nathan (go Scorpions!) win his last basketball game, we met at McDonald's for playtime, eats, and celebratory treats.

We love Aunt Becky. She was the only adult to volunteer (cheerfully) to go into the big toy with the little tykes so they could enjoy the fun (safely).

Anders and Mikey wanted to get in there on their own.

This reminds me of a college physics experiment.

Weeeeeee!

Here are all the grandkids, minus Stephen, who is now old enough to drive and respectfully bow out of McDonald's birthday parties.

Her First Commissioned Works

Kennedy was asked by her aunt Jen to create some transportation paintings for Cousin Willem's room. These were her first commissioned works. Jen provided the canvases and paints and paid Kennedy with a special afternoon alone with Jen and Junie, enjoying lunch and girlie time at the mall.

"The Night Boat"

"Time for School"

"Bicycle Time"

"Up, Up, and Away!"

The full collection.

I am sorry that the camera and lighting do not do these colorful paintings justice. They really turned out beautifully.

The Semi Annual Hair Cuts

I love the overgrown look of their shaggy hair, but it was time to trim things up. I took the boys in for their semi-annual haircuts recently. The results were adorable.Harrison before...

... and after.

Jack-O before...

Jack-O after.

Jackson Turns Six!

Jackson turned six on the 26th of December. He woke up to a birthday banner greeting him in the bathroom.

Jackson chose Pop Tarts and waffles for his birthday breakfast and ate them off of the family "You Are Special" plate reserved for such occasions. We had a great day at Grammy and Papa's house (as blogged about in the previous entry) and when we returned home, Jack opened up his birthday gift; a remote controlled Mustang.The next day Jackson chose the Spaghetti Factory to eat his Birthday lunch. We were all glad for the choice.

Our precious little Jack-O-Bean, as we affectionately call him, is now six years old. It seems like he was just born and now he is already in kindergarten; reading, writing, and doing math computations. He loves to play outside in his fort and with Dad's tools. Last fall he made bench that he's quite proud of. We love Jack's gentle soul, inquisitive nature and of course that big smile.