The other night I gave Liam a random "I love you" while he was sitting next to me on the couch. He leaned over to me and said "I love you SO much, Mommy. And Jesus died on the cross."
I had to laugh inside.
Thinking that might've been a random comment, a few minutes later I said "Liam, I love you." Again, he turned to me and said "I love you. And Jesus died on the cross."
Although I find it funny that he says these two things together, I am so thankful that he has been going to a school where he is also encouraged to learn more about Jesus.
Peace, love and "cross" behavior,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam
Monday, May 16, 2011
2011: Another Year of the Projects
2011 is keeping us busy. The list of things to do around our house / yard is endless, it seems!
Here are a few snapshots of what we've been doing...
Peace, love and eternal fixer-uppers,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam.
Here are a few snapshots of what we've been doing...
Peace, love and eternal fixer-uppers,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam.
Organizing kids' toys
We have our sights set on updating our sub-division sign. I can hear Cowboy/Western tumbleweed-style music when I look at our sub-sign, which I don't think is an accurate representation of the houses in our sub...
A new front door from Home Depot. Clearance price = happy us.
We put a new roof on our house (not taken care of by insurance claim :( ). There were dormer leaks which seem to have stopped. In the future, we'll have to redo the ceiling or patch it. We don't prefer the popcorn finish on the ceiling, so it might be scraped off in the future...
You can see the dormer was leaking above, in both corners...
Doug finished drywalling part of the basement, mudding, sanding and painting the new walls. He also put up some shelves to organize the garage madness...
We had a dusty, unused area beneath the stairway to our basement. I thought it might be useful to put a closet or shelves in that area. We cleaned it out. Doug put in some new shelves, drywalled around the door, mudded, sanded and painted. It's a pretty big closet that is getting put to good use!
Our chimney needed to be resided when the roof was done. The local woodpeckers have made a buffet meal out of our chimney. We replaced the wood with Hardi board siding, which is made with cement. The woodpeckers shouldn't be interested in chowing on the chimney now.
Getting a little more organized...
More shelving.
Ever the detail-man, Doug couldn't resist trimming out this area of the basement after he drywalled, mudded, sanded and painted...No more looking at creepy rolled insulation! Wa-hoo!
Future Endeavours
This morning Ava, Liam and I watched the final launch of the space shuttle Endeavour.
I tuned into the NASA channel on cable. The crew had already made their way into the shuttle. We watched the countdown from 10 minutes to launch. Ava seemed very interested in the whole process. I told her about the control center in Houston, how the different arms would move out of the way so the shuttle could launch. Liam didn't seem as interested, and was pretty busy playing with a vehicle of some sort. :-)
Ava crawled up into my lap. I asked her if she thought the astronauts were scared. She said she thought they were. I told her that they have practiced SO MANY YEARS for this trip. I told her I thought they might be scared, but practiced so much that they knew exactly what to do, prayed that God would keep them safe and then followed the directions of the Command Center. It was definitely a teachable moment... I told her that the crew had to follow directions because their lives depended on it. I snapped a few pictures of them watching the launch.
This was the last launch of Shuttle Endeavour. I read that the Endeavour was built to replace the Space Shuttle Challenger, which was lost in a launch accident in 1986. I remember watching the Challenger with my class at school, as it launched and then exploded. I remember praying with my classmates, with my teacher leading the prayer, for the families of the astronauts lost in the tragedy. Schools have definitely changed since then! I was thankful to see a glitch-free launch today, and remembered those on the Challenger who lost their lives.
Ava has been so fascinated with the planets and space lately, I thought she would really enjoy watching the launch. I told her that the astronauts would see the world like we've seen it in books, because they would be far enough away to view most of it. When she saw the guys working in the Command Center, she asked "Mom, are those the guys who control the shuttle?" She seemed to appreciate watching.
A woman flying from NJ to Florida actually took a picture of the shuttle from the window of her Delta flight. You can see the shuttle after it has broken through a shelf of clouds, as it climbs higher into the sky.
Peace, love and one Starry-Starry Night,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam
I tuned into the NASA channel on cable. The crew had already made their way into the shuttle. We watched the countdown from 10 minutes to launch. Ava seemed very interested in the whole process. I told her about the control center in Houston, how the different arms would move out of the way so the shuttle could launch. Liam didn't seem as interested, and was pretty busy playing with a vehicle of some sort. :-)
Ava crawled up into my lap. I asked her if she thought the astronauts were scared. She said she thought they were. I told her that they have practiced SO MANY YEARS for this trip. I told her I thought they might be scared, but practiced so much that they knew exactly what to do, prayed that God would keep them safe and then followed the directions of the Command Center. It was definitely a teachable moment... I told her that the crew had to follow directions because their lives depended on it. I snapped a few pictures of them watching the launch.
This was the last launch of Shuttle Endeavour. I read that the Endeavour was built to replace the Space Shuttle Challenger, which was lost in a launch accident in 1986. I remember watching the Challenger with my class at school, as it launched and then exploded. I remember praying with my classmates, with my teacher leading the prayer, for the families of the astronauts lost in the tragedy. Schools have definitely changed since then! I was thankful to see a glitch-free launch today, and remembered those on the Challenger who lost their lives.
Ava has been so fascinated with the planets and space lately, I thought she would really enjoy watching the launch. I told her that the astronauts would see the world like we've seen it in books, because they would be far enough away to view most of it. When she saw the guys working in the Command Center, she asked "Mom, are those the guys who control the shuttle?" She seemed to appreciate watching.
A woman flying from NJ to Florida actually took a picture of the shuttle from the window of her Delta flight. You can see the shuttle after it has broken through a shelf of clouds, as it climbs higher into the sky.
Peace, love and one Starry-Starry Night,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam
Easter 2011
This year Easter was such a blast! Liam was old enough to know how to egg-hunt. We invited our neighbors the Rosas to our church egg-hunt. It was too sweet… Our church recently redecorated “Main Street”, which is the hallway of children’s classes. The hall is decorated with storefronts such as Zebedee and Son’s Fish Market, Delilah’s Barber Shop, and a place for Zaccheus the tax accountant. On Easter Sunday, the congregation elders and their wives dressed in costumes like they were the owners of each store, handing out candy and goodies to kids with Easter baskets. Tony, Elaine, Olivia and Nico joined us and walked through the hallway. His Kidz were performing in the Clubhouse area (where Ava attends during worship), which Olivia really seemed to enjoy.
We headed outside for the egg hunt. Liam didn’t really hustle when it was “go” time, but Ava managed to find a few eggs. The church was so organized about the whole production this year. They actually had two egg hunts, both at different times, to be sure all kids were included. Liam and Ava attended the second egg hunt as well. This go-around, a really sweet pre-teen gave Liam a few eggs. Ava bolted when they said “go”, but was only able to find one egg. Liam shared.
We headed back inside to inspect the plunder. Ava and Olivia took some cute girlie pictures. We were able to snap a family picture and then headed home. I got a few pictures of the kidlings before going inside…to crack open Easter eggs, of course!
Peace, love and somebunny loves you,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam
Easter Mom-hero fail:
Trying to hide your children's Easter gifts in the car doesn't work...
When it's 80 degrees outside...
Ava and Liam, Sunday morning just outside of the church building.
I love their faces in this picture. Not quite sure what is going on???
Getting ready for the egg hunt.
Egg hunt #2.
Trying to encourage Liam to go find eggs...
Ava and Olivia strike a pose...
Mommy and her girl.
We like to take pictures of Liam. We really do. Most of them turn out like this.
Or this...
Or this...
Being silly again.
An Easter family picture.
Pretty girl.
Ava and Liam after the Easter festivities.
Shy guy.
Ava posing.
Tea roses outside of our house.
Trains...Oh the trains!
I can't even REMEMBER when Liam wasn't interested in trains. I honestly don't think we've gone out of our way to encourage this...ahem...ADDICTION. Yes, it's to that point.
I can first remember Liam rocking back and forth, at five months of age, in front of Grandpa Dean and Grandma Dolly's Christmas tree. He would rock back and forth, waiting for their model train to come around the track / tree. Once he would see it coming toward him, he would stop rocking momentarily. Then, as soon as the train would pass, he would start rocking back and forth again, waiting for it to round the track again. He did this over and over!
Liam has taken a particular interest in Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends. He has countless miniature trains, ALWAYS with one in hand. He will often take one to sleep with him, falling asleep with one in his hand. Doug and I joke that we know Liam has finally fallen asleep when the train falls out of his hand.
While in Disney World's Magic Kingdom in February, Liam's beloved "Thomas" fell out of the stroller, somehow unnoticed, during his nap. Sensing there might be a panic attack on the horizon for Liam, "Grandpa Pam" found a replacement train in a gift shop for Liam. This train was a small plastic train that Mickey Mouse drove. Something for Liam to clutch during his Disney adventures. He seemed happy about it.
The day prior, Liam was happy to find a model train village / set-up in Epcot Center, complete with tunnels, bridges, etc. Practically a real-life Island of Sodor! :-) Although Epcot wasn't nearly as kid-friendly as Magic Kingdom, Liam and Ava both enjoyed the model train display. Once we left the display, Liam kept pointing in the general direction of the trains, saying "Trains!", basically asking to go back. After his nap that day in the stroller, immediately upon waking up, he actually pointed back in the direction of the trains. I thought it was too funny that he still had enough sense of direction to know the way back to the trains, even after a nap! Numerous times he pointed that way...
When Liam is acting two, we only have to threaten to take away his trains for the day and he decides to change his behavior. He has had his trains taken away a handful of times. This seems to do the trick!
His favorite thing to do is busily connect train tracks together, so the trains can "chug". Liam uses the word chug as a verb. :) "Dad, can you come chug with me?"
As you can see, we will run out of living room faster than we will run out of train tracks. These pictures are of Liam in action, connecting train tracks.
Liam sees trains wherever he looks. He makes trains out of things that aren't trains. Trolley cars are trains, in his book. He puts books on the floor and lines them up, end-to-end, and says they are trains. At breakfast the other day, he noticed a train on the orange juice carton.
A few weeks back, I just got out of the shower and was wrapped in a towel. Liam points up at me and says: "Train tracks!" (I'm no longer surprised by hearing any word related to trains, in any situation...) I looked at the towel, to see what he was talking about. Sure enough, the towel had a decorative border of squares on it, that looked like train tracks, to Liam...
Oh, and it doesn't end there... Every night, when Liam says prayers, he thanks God for his trains, trucks, cars and toys. That exhausts the list, for the most part. I've been trying to work with him on thanking God for other things; more lately he has been adding "Mommy and Daddy and Ava and Liam and Mommy and Liam and Ava and Daddy." We're working on adding to the prayer list.
What can I say, this boy eats, sleeps and breathes trains. Or, in Liamspeak, "trainses".
Peace, love and a little loco(motive),
Shelly, Doug, Ava and the littlest engineer
I can first remember Liam rocking back and forth, at five months of age, in front of Grandpa Dean and Grandma Dolly's Christmas tree. He would rock back and forth, waiting for their model train to come around the track / tree. Once he would see it coming toward him, he would stop rocking momentarily. Then, as soon as the train would pass, he would start rocking back and forth again, waiting for it to round the track again. He did this over and over!
While in Disney World's Magic Kingdom in February, Liam's beloved "Thomas" fell out of the stroller, somehow unnoticed, during his nap. Sensing there might be a panic attack on the horizon for Liam, "Grandpa Pam" found a replacement train in a gift shop for Liam. This train was a small plastic train that Mickey Mouse drove. Something for Liam to clutch during his Disney adventures. He seemed happy about it.
The day prior, Liam was happy to find a model train village / set-up in Epcot Center, complete with tunnels, bridges, etc. Practically a real-life Island of Sodor! :-) Although Epcot wasn't nearly as kid-friendly as Magic Kingdom, Liam and Ava both enjoyed the model train display. Once we left the display, Liam kept pointing in the general direction of the trains, saying "Trains!", basically asking to go back. After his nap that day in the stroller, immediately upon waking up, he actually pointed back in the direction of the trains. I thought it was too funny that he still had enough sense of direction to know the way back to the trains, even after a nap! Numerous times he pointed that way...
When Liam is acting two, we only have to threaten to take away his trains for the day and he decides to change his behavior. He has had his trains taken away a handful of times. This seems to do the trick!
His favorite thing to do is busily connect train tracks together, so the trains can "chug". Liam uses the word chug as a verb. :) "Dad, can you come chug with me?"
As you can see, we will run out of living room faster than we will run out of train tracks. These pictures are of Liam in action, connecting train tracks.
Liam sees trains wherever he looks. He makes trains out of things that aren't trains. Trolley cars are trains, in his book. He puts books on the floor and lines them up, end-to-end, and says they are trains. At breakfast the other day, he noticed a train on the orange juice carton.
A few weeks back, I just got out of the shower and was wrapped in a towel. Liam points up at me and says: "Train tracks!" (I'm no longer surprised by hearing any word related to trains, in any situation...) I looked at the towel, to see what he was talking about. Sure enough, the towel had a decorative border of squares on it, that looked like train tracks, to Liam...
Oh, and it doesn't end there... Every night, when Liam says prayers, he thanks God for his trains, trucks, cars and toys. That exhausts the list, for the most part. I've been trying to work with him on thanking God for other things; more lately he has been adding "Mommy and Daddy and Ava and Liam and Mommy and Liam and Ava and Daddy." We're working on adding to the prayer list.
What can I say, this boy eats, sleeps and breathes trains. Or, in Liamspeak, "trainses".
Peace, love and a little loco(motive),
Shelly, Doug, Ava and the littlest engineer
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Ava's View
Ava has been enjoying some of the drawing applications on my Android phone lately. Somehow she started using the camera and documented our trip to Home Depot.
Here I am attempting to buy three more double knock-out roses...
My blistered and bandaged hand, from digging holes for five previous double knock-out roses.
Ava's beautiful toes...
Purple hydrangea
Purple orchids
Purple cans on a shelf (are you sensing a pattern here?)
More purple flowers
One happy Daddy. :)
Peace, love and purple perspectives,
Shelly, Doug, the covert photographer, Liam
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