we're off...

as we get ready to pack up the mule (or subaru in this case) on our way down south tomorrow, i have been pondering the events of this last year. i think that it has been the fastest year of my life, and quite possibly the most difficult (actually, i am positive of that). here are some of the memories that stick out from 2008.
1. the quick, hard, and amazing birth of amelia paige
2. adjusting to life with a newborn and a 2 year old (who thought that she ran the house)
3. cooking WITHOUT a kitchen for 6 months
4. potty training (do i need to say more:)
5. sweet smiles from my little melia
6. kate developing into a kind, sweet friend and sister (we are definitely still in progress here:)
7. maui vacation with tim and kate
8. my husband loving me despite my many failures
9. God's graciousness to me during a trying year
10. many moments spent laughing
these are just a few of the things that come to mind when i think of this past year for me and my family. i am glad for many reasons that this year is coming to a close and that i have a fresh new year to look forward to. but i also see this last year as one that God gave me to change many things in me. i hope that i am a better wife, mommy, friend, daughter, and sister because of the experiences that were apart of 2008. merry christmas and happy new year!

christmas #1

today we celebrated our christmas with tim's family. my sister-in-law jeanene did a fabulous brunch for 14 of us. i made homemade cinnamon rolls (a roth family tradition) and she did everything else. it was fun to be together today since we are heading down south for christmas with my family in just a few days. we were together all day-we opened presents, played games, went out for a walk, & then out to see some amazing neighborhood lights. what a fun day! i am so incredibly blessed to have married into an awesome family.

the nutcracker

a few weeks ago tim, kate, & i went to the nutcracker with tim's mom, sister jeanene and 2 of her kiddos. we took tim's aunt for her birthday, so it was a fun birthday/christmas event. it was a matinee, so thankfully the audience was ful of young families. kate thought it was a blast until the lights went down and large rats started dancing around the stage. she loved the ballerinas and their costumes, but cried when the king rat was killed by the toy soldier. it was really funny to us, but she was clearly tramatized. she still talks about that part of the ballet.

the job of a mommy

so, as i'm cleaning up lunch today, i look over to find amelia eating something off the floor. this is not uncommon, but i had just cleaned the floor so i looked a little closer. actually, it was the smell that caught my nose. it didn't take long to realize that poop had literally spilled out of her pants onto the floor and she was eating it. YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so, where do you start the clean up?????? i rinsed her mouth out as best i could, removed her from the poop pile, stripped her down, bathed her, and started ANOTHER load of laundry (i had just finished all the laundry yesterday:) and we wonder why it is that we mommies seem to get nothing done during the day. this is a tribute to all you other mommies out there that are cleaning up messes all day long too.

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

the weather has changed, the lights are up, the tree is decorated and the cookies have been baked (and eaten). this weekend we did it all- i was thinking that we wouldn't do everything this year since we are not hosting anything and are traveling down south for christmas. BUT, when i really thought about not having a tree up and decorations around the house it made me sad. so, we did it and i love it. i love the smell of a fresh tree and wreath, and the girls are loving the oraments and decor. we are hoping that amelia doesn't pull the tree down on herself:) since most of you won't be here to see our house, here are some pictures of what it looks like.

amelia

this is what we get to clean up after every meal. this girl like to eat!

cabin fever

i'm sure that any other mother can relate. we have been sick for 3 weeks straight. first kate, then amelia, then me, then amelia, and now kate again. this week illness is inhabiting kate and has been miserable. today was her second day with a fever, which means we can't be around anyone. we have missed a birthday party, bible study, music class, & friends coming over. i'm trying to rejoice in "ALL" things, but am finding it hard. all i want to do is get together with friends and hang out, go to target, etc. instead, we are hanging out at our house. i have cabin fever. we did sneak out to the park for a little fresh air today which was nice.

Thanksgiving weekend

we had a really nice time away for the thanksgiving holiday. we went to tim's parents in napa tuesday through saturday. it was nice having lazy mornings in our pajamas, playing games, watching movies, and just relaxing. the girls had fun playing with their friends and cousins, and we even spent a day up valley taking pictures for our christmas card ( i won't spoil the surprise since you'll be getting a card in the mail soon:). we have so much to be thankful for-our home, tim's job, our two precious little girls, our health, our families, but most of all God's sovereign and abundant grace that he gives us every morning. we hope that you had a wonderful thanksgiving as well and were able to reflect on all that you are thankful for!

some days i wonder why i can't seem to accomplish anything!

more parties!

last weekend was filled with more parties. it's a wonder that kate is already talking about her next birthday. we celebrated her birthday AGAIN with my parents and tim's extended family. we had 45 people crammed into our little house, but kate thought it was great that an entire choir sang her "happy birthday". we also had the chance to dedicate amelia to the Lord at church-it was special having both sets of grandparents, tim's aunt (nonie), and tim's sister, jeanene and her family there. we are blessed to have wonderful families!

here's a picture of kate enjoying her new pink bike from boppa and grammie.

random pictures

here are some random pictures from the last few days. this week has been spent at home, getting ready for my parent's visit. they are coming to celebrate kate's birthday (you can never have enought parties, right?) and amelia's dedication at church. kate continues to amaze us with the way she thinks and expresses herself (i can't believe she's only 3!) and amelia's new quest is to stand up holding onto whatever she can find. it's fun to see how things change in just a few weeks time.

rainy morning concert

we woke up this morning to rain, so instead of going for a walk, we decided to hang around in our pajamas (something we rarely do anymore). kate got her new microphone out and gave me a mini concert on the hearth. i can't wait to see her on a stage somewhere in 20 years or so.

tagged again

i was tagged again by cousin megan. i am supposed to explain the picture from the 6th folder, then the 6th picture from "my pictures". i have mine set up differently too, so i went to the 6th year, then the six month, then the 6th date, then the 6th picture (are you confused yet?). so, here's the picture. it's nothing too exciting. it's kate sitting on our back patio-i was trying to get a picture of her BIG front teeth. she was 8 months old.

i'm not sure how i'm supposed to pick the next person, so i'll just tag my sister. go for it amy!

i've been tagged by my friend juliana. i am supposed to say 7 random things about myself:

1. i am in a supper swapping group. each week, 4 of my friends and i each make 4 meals (for 4 families), get together at the beginning of the week, swap the meals, then have 4 different meals (including the one i made). all of my cooking and grocery shopping is done for the week at the beginning of the week. with two little kiddos, this has been a lifesaver!

2. i would much rather have chewy candy over chocolate.

3. i love taking a nap on a dreary, rainy day (like i did today).

4. i have an obsession with shoes. currently they are piled on the closet floor in kate's room since we haven't finished the closet in our room.

5. tim and i love running with the girls in the double jogger. we see what we can do more of: actual running or fixing blankies, getting books, getting snacks, giving a water cup, taking the water cup away, stopping to look at the ducks, picking up the toy that fell on the ground, etc.

6. i love to bake and cook. this is something i didn't realize i enjoyed so much until i didn't have time to do it. every chance i get i do it, but those chances seem few and very far between.

7.i love the quiet that nap time brings. it's the only quiet in our house from 7am-8pm. it's when i get most things done- cleaning, blogging, cooking, phone calls, showering (i know it's gross, but it's the truth:). anyway, sometimes it seems too quiet, but most days it's a nice sound.

amelia

we're still trying to figure out why amelia is topping the charts with her weight:)

Kate's birthday party & halloween

we celebrated kate's 3rd birthday yesterday on halloween. her birthday was last sunday, but since we were out of town, we did her party yesterday instead. it was fun having all the kids dress up and having a carnival theme, complete with bean bag toss, face painting, and a jumpy house. kate had a blast and is already talking about her next party:) after napping, we changes costumes and went trick-or-treating with jeanene and tim and their kids. kate loves being with her cousins, so it was a bonus that they got to be dressed up and collect candy. she quickly got the hang of the door-knocking and saying "trick-or-treat".

More maui pictures

tim and i had the most AMAZING dinner. we ate at mama's fish house. since we went with friends, we swapped babysitting so that we could have a quiet dinner to ourselves. it was by far one of the best meals we've ever had. the setting was just beautiful and the food to die for. i would highly recommend it if you ever find yourself on maui.

Maui

if you've been wondering where we were, we just returned from an amazing trip to maui. tim, kate, and i went to the island with our good friends the jensens. we decided to leave melia at home with grammie and grampa since she was starting to scoot, needs her naps, and would probably spend most of the time eating sand. it was fun to have a little break from the schedule, but she decided that she would learn to crawl while we were away (she also learned a very loud, high pitched scream that could blow your ear drums). anyway, we had a great time and we thinkg kate loved having mommy and daddy all to herself. she loved picking the beautiful flowers, wading in the pools and even went down the slide with me (we had to bribe her with ice cream:) we were ready to come home, but think that this was one of our best trips ever. we can't wait to go back!

backpacking

tim had the chance to go backpacking with some guys from church this last weekend. it was a fun time for him to get away & have boy time, while i spent the weekend "relaxing" with the girls up in napa at tim's parent's house. of all people, tim definitely deserves to get away every once in a while.

pumpkin patch

on friday, shelly, christy and i went to the pumpkin patch with our kids. it was fun to be there and the weather actually felt like fall, which was a fun change. i'll include a picture of kate "talking" on her phone, which she did almost the whole time we were there. (thankfully i DON'T like talking on the phone, so she hasn't learned it from me:)

House projects

it's hard to believe that we are 7 months into our house project(s). we are really starting to see that the end is in sight but still have the hardwood floors to redo as well as the finish work throughout the house (baseboard, crown moulding, etc.) we are both SO ready to have this behind us and can't wait to see the final result. i am at least back to cooking in the kitchen and the bathroom is totally usable (amen to having 2 bathrooms again:) here are some pictures.

happy 60th mom!

so, for the second weekend in a row, i was able to be out of town. this time it was for my mom's 60th. my sister and i surprised her with a weekend in san francisco, just the girls (well, the big girls). my dad graciously booked us a weekend at the hyatt at the embarcadero, and we had spectacular views of the ferry building and the bay. the weather was incredible. we treated mom to a facial, went to a matinee, then ate at houston's for dinner. we also shopped in union square-what a fun weekend away!