My Dad...

Disclaimer....he loved the Beatles....not their theology ;) just their music!

Can't believe it has already been three years since he passed away...Where did the time go? So many memories flood my mind today as I remember him. Thought I would share a few pictures...(surprised?) The first picture was of our family (pre-Andrea and kids) at Disneyland in the Summer of '03.  Nolan and I were engaged and this was taken about a month before my dad starting showing signs of being sick.

My dad was an amazing coach. He lead several teams to State Championship tournaments in baseball and football. I kept the book for him/his baseball team in High School. Those guys sure did respect him.

Him and I after a summer league basketball practice. He was always willing to take us to a practice, game etc. He loved watching his kids play sports.

(on the left) He never did give up rolling his pants like that....HAHA!

He grew up in a Military family and had fun stories of growing up all over the place including Scotland.

A few fond memories...

He enjoyed a frosted mug with his root beer

He was giddy the day he bought his '63 &1/2 Ford Galaxy

He loved to whistle while listening to the Beatles

He had a book for every report we head due at school....if he could only find it...

He kept EVERYTHING...and could win any argument when you thought you needed new shoes(his were impossibly old....)

I remember him wearing scrunched tube socks with his old white tennis shoes...

He often stood on his tip toes when posing for a picture with my mom

He loved photography and was really talented with it

...

He Loved the Lord.

He raised his family to stand on the Word of God and live by it.

"Read you Bible."

"Go to Church"

 "Be Good!"

Love you dad! Miss you...

11 Months Old

Audree is 11 months old today. I really have a hard time remembering where the time went. We are so excited to have her in our family. She is quite the clown lately. She often jabbers to get our attention, only to make a silly face and then start chuckling. She is notorious for her "cheesy" crinkle-nosed grin. We just can't get enough of this little monkey!

Garden Therapy

I bought 10 strawberry plants a few days ago and have been so excited to plant them. Most of you who know me, know that I don't enjoy eating strawberries. I know, I know..."I'm Crazy." Anyway, my family loves them and they are very pretty so I thought they would be our first to be planted in our garden this year.

Some of you may remember that Nolan built me a raised garden bed for my birthday last year! I loved watching our tomatoes and cucumbers grow. This year I plan to have strawberries, tomatoes, and hopefully a red pepper plant!
Karalee loves to play in the dirt, transplanting to various places around the yard.  This is what our bed looked like today, before planting.

I went to Starbucks today and asked them for any left-over coffee grounds. They gave me a huge bag. What a treat to get free, organic compost for my garden. Apparently used coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen, something that needs to be added to soil that has already "fed" a plant. It also doesn't compact as much as dirt so it keeps your soil just right for your roots to travel...Did I mention it smelled AMAZING?

After this Espresso layer, I added the top layer of soil, compost, manure, and food. I bought a pre-mixed bag this year. We have a pretty good base, so this saved a lot of time...

Now I can plant my beautiful little plants. This truly does feel therapeutic.

In case you are wondering what cool gardening tools I use, don't be intimidated...

And I am left with a fun little strawberry patch in my garden box. They remind me so much of my grandma's strawberry rows in her garden. I have such fun memories of picking berries in her back yard. Can't wait to see if we get anything this year. I hear we might not... we shall have to wait and see.

I have heard that these grow just great in a pot...so if you don't have a garden, don't let that stop you!

Why Clean Chemical-Free???

Any time I go out onto the deck to get something, I turn around to a picture of this! The last time I watched her do it I thought, "I sure am glad that my windows are not only clean, but chemical free."  Who wants their 10-month-old to have a lick of windex? Not me! What a stinker, this one!

Love from the North!!!

Mimi sent the girls some care packages today. They were both so excited!!! Thanks "Meem"! 

Audree was feeding off of Karalee's excitement and was pretty sure this yellow envelope must be amazing. She was so excited she wouldn't stop bouncing and shaking the package...cute.

Thanks Mimi! Thanks for the sinus meds too...very appreciated!

Favorite Photo

These are my favorite two photos captured on Easter with the family. I'm in love with Ronan in the Black and White. I can almost here him laughing when I look at it. Maybe part of my excitement is the fact that Pioneer Woman has listed some of her photoshop actions in an elements friendly way....(Did I lose anyone?)  Anyway, this is her formula for turning a picture b&w and I'm in LOVE with it!  YEAH! And....who could resist my nephew Jamin ....hahaha.

Okay.....I love this one too. Silly Uncle Ben!

Mommy's Monday Morning: Fruits of the Spirit 101

" ...The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

Yes, it is only 10:15 AM on Monday and I am writing on my blog.....Little Miss Audree just went down for a morning nap, and Karalee is basking in the glow of two Easter baskets. While she is completely engrossed by those colorful eggs and tin foil chocolates, I will tell you about our mini-course on the passage in Galatians 5...

Good morning Lord! I am tired and I need your strength today. Thank you for the wonderful gift of your Son and the sacrifice that was made for me.....and......I hit the ground running with two kids "singing" the "please get me out of this bed" song that is really just a bunch of wailing and gnashing of teeth. I rescue them from their beds and we begin our day, or our lessons, rather. Here they are in the order they were learned this morning...keep in mind, all in about 20 minutes.

LOVE:  Making my husband a healthy lunch as he leaves for work.
JOY   :  Listening to my 2 year old tell me why she has (in my opinion) a ridiculous amount of chocolate to look at this morning.."Cause Jesus died... and it was a gift...and I got other pwesents....and the chocolate is my pwesent too...and they are not Audee's pwesents...she got the puffs! (veggie puffs in place of candy in the eggs)...and Jesus gived this chocolate to me..."
PATIENCE: Raisin Bran spilling all over the kitchen floor
SELF-CONTROL: Getting back to a healthy eating plan and counting some calories
PEACE:  Stealing 11.5 seconds to myself to use the restroom....sometimes the only "peace & quiet" of the day
GENTLENESS:  ....learned along with the second helping of patience as I changed Audree's blow-out that had gone all the way up her back. The gentleness is practiced when she is twisting and writhing as if you are torturing her for cruel pleasure. Nolan is certain we need to get her some tranquilizers for the diaper changings
FAITHFULNESS:  Remembering that the Lord can teach me HIS truths, HIS promises and HIS lessons for my life through 15 square feet of scattered Raisin Bran, a dirty diaper smeared on my arms as I lift my child, and a mountain of laundry that is almost as tall as I am....

Good Morning Lord. Good Morning Monday.

Papa bought us these beautiful lilies...