Ethan's tooth

Ethan finally has his first tooth! It is still barely showing but you can see it when he smiles. He loves getting it brushed. Just thought I would let everyone know!
-Angie

Our Mini Vacation

We went to the Running Y Ranch this last week thanks to Christian and Sheri!!! We stayed for two nights and had a wonderful time. While we were there we went ice skating. Jacob and I have only been ice skating a couple of times and Austin has only been once but this was the first time for the rest of the kids. They all had a blast! Even Brendan skated for a while with Jacob or I helping him (we took turns skating and sitting out holding Ethan). Every one, except me (Ha Ha) fell at least once. When Jacob fell a nice old lady skated over to see if he was alright.
We also tried our hand at tennis and spent more time chasing after balls than we did hitting them back and forth, but it was fun. Jacob ended up playing with Ethan in the front pack. The kids also played on the playground, air hockey, pool, and a few arcade games.
The kids wanted to go swimming as soon as we got to the resort. They had a pretty big pool with a hot tub and a little tiny wading pool which Ethan loved. Jacob taught Brendan how to jump off the edge of the pool into his arms.
Our room had a balcony that over looked the brown golf course (yes, even the golf courses in Klamath Falls are brown), and on the second day we were there we saw 3 bald Eagles soaring in the sky and then land down by the pond. It was really awesome.
We had a wonderful time and wish we could have stayed longer. Now Brendan no longer wants to go to our “new home” he wants to go to “our hotel”.
Jacob took some pics while we were there so when he gets around to it we will have some photos here to show you.
-Angie

Out and About in Town

Thursday was Jacob's day off so we decided to check out one of the many museums located here in town. We found a children's museum in the phone book and decided to start there. It just so happened that they were having a special that day and so it cost us $12 for the family to get in instead of the normal $42 for a family of our size. It ended up being a really cool museum, one of the best ones we have ever been to. They had all kinds of fun exhibits for the kids to play with and once trying every thing out they picked their favorites and pretty much stuck with those ones for the rest of the time we were there. Brendan's was a fire truck that had real flashing red lights and sirens, and two way radio that was connected to another fire truck down stairs so you could talk to whoever was playing in that one. He sat there pretending to drive it wearing a little plastic fireman hat most of the time we were there. Karissa and Tyler both really enjoyed playing in the grocery store with the cash register. Aleigha's favorite was the beauty shop where they had two mannequins that you could style their hair. Austin liked the post office section best and all the kids had fun calling each other on the phones that were located in each section.
When we were done there we went to the library so the kids could use their new library cards we had received in the mail the day before. All of our kids think that the library is one of the greatest places on earth so you can imagine there excitement to get to go to a new one they'd never been to before. This library has a big section of easy readers so Tyler had a blast looking through it to find books he could read himself, and this was the first time he has had his own library card!

Here are some pics.

What our kids are up to now

Ethan is eight months old now, and he is all over the place. He can crawl really fast now and no matter how clean the floors are he can find something to shove in his mouth. Then when I pry his mouth open and take away whatever it is that he has decided was going to be his next meal he screams at the top of his lungs and looks at me like I am the meanest person in the world.
On top of that he has decided that the mini blinds on the front windows are wonderful toys, he will crawl over to the windows, only stopping for a brief moment to pull all the shoes off the rack, then pulls himself up and starts shaking the blinds. I tell him "No Ethan" to which he turns his head and smiles at me.

With Brendan we are working on potty training. Every time he goes potty in the toilet he tells me daddy's gonna be proud of me.
When ever we are out in town he will ask us where we are going and I will tell him we are going home to which he responds "I don't want to go home. I want to go to our new house". No matter how many times I've explained that our new house is our home.

Today Aleigha read three sentences for school. She was so proud of herself she had to talk to Jacob on the phone to tell him about it. She is also trying to plan her birthday party which is not until May, but she has already decided what kind of cake she wants, where she wants the party to be, and who is coming (now that's planning ahead).

Tyler has gotten more into reading lately; though he would still rather be out side riding his scooter or bicycle. Yesterday he got 100% on his math test. He says his favorite subject right now is science which doesn't surprise me because he is really into bugs right now. The other day there was a daddy long legged spider crawling across the floor and I told the kids to kill it for me and he told me mom it's ok and then went over and picked it up with his bare hands and took it out side.

Karissa made friends with a girl who lives next door, so she spends quite a bit of her free time playing with her. Her favorite thing to do right now is reading and has been for quite sometime. She also loves to cook and help out in the kitchen.

Austin also enjoys reading and cooking. He just made some chocolate chip cookies for us that were very yummy! He also has made friends with a neighbor boy who is the same age as him. Austin is growing very fast and is now just over 5'4 inches. Lately his favorite thing to do is to play Jacob's new wii.

I just wanted to kinda keep in touch with everyone and let you all know what the kiddos have been doing since we moved. They seem to be enjoying themselves here. I will try to keep everyone posted as to how we are doing. Hope everyone else is doing well also. -Angie

We've moved!

I know it has been a long time since we have posted anything, but we were in the process of moving! With all the packing, unpacking, and cleaning we haven't had much time for typing. We have been here in Klamath Falls for a week and are having a lot of fun setting up our new house!
The weather here so far has not been too bad....it hasn't gotten any colder here than it does occasionally in Medford. The bad news is that for over here it has been pretty warm so it is only going to get colder. BRRRRRR!!! We don't really have any snow, except what was piled up by the snow plows and hasn't melted yet. Every day so far has been beautiful and the sun rises and sun sets are gorgeous (something we wouldn't have seen in the Rogue Valley because of the fog).
Yesterday was Jacob's first day back at work and our first day getting back to our school routine (we'll have some catch up to do this summer).
I thought it would be fun to get the kids opinions about the house/move so here is what they had to say.......
Austin- "I like the upstairs and I like the backyard. That's it".
Karissa-"The upstairs is really cool, I like that Ethan gets to share a room with me and Aleigha. I like the big backyard that us kids and the dog can play in".
Tyler-"I have an upstairs bedroom, and that is all I want to write Mom".
Aleigha- "It took a long time to get here, but it was fun. We have a new church. We'll be back in a week;I mean a year. Ethan's been really cranky. Our house looks new to us. Tyler and I got to ride in the U-haul.
Brendan-"I love you". (He is only 2)
-Angie

My shocking gas station experience

I had an experience that was so unique (at least for me) I felt it was worth sharing. I leave work on Sunday and decide it is about time to fill the tank with gas. So as I am close to the Ashland on ramp I decided to stop by the Shell station there even though they were a little higher than Medford it was more convenient. I have filled up many times before here however up until now I have stooped at the island closest to the road. For whatever reason I pull into the island closest to the building and ask the attendant to fill it up as I go inside to get a cup of coffee. When I get to the counter the attendant tells my the total is $34.63 (sound a little high since gas has gone down but maybe I added wrong in my head. After paying I thank the outside attendant and get in my car. One last double check, as it does not sit quite right with me, to the price on the pump. $3.06 per gallon wait a minute the sign on the road says $2.06 so I ask the attendant. $3.06 per gallon? HE explains to me I pulled into the full service island where they wash you windows and stuff but that I could talk to the cashier. Obviously people have had problems like this before because all I had to do was mention the price and he refunded the difference.

$1.00 per gallon for full service I think still quite appalled as I drive away. Oh yea the window is still very dirty. -Jacob

Austin is 11!

Last Saturday our oldest celebrated his 11th birthday. People are always saying not to blink because they grow up so fast, and it is so true. The past 11 years have flown by.
Austin is a great kid! He is very happy and easy going. He is also very helpful and his younger siblings adore him. He is a very generous person. When he has something (a special treat or candy)he likes to divide it up to make sure everyone gets some, and with the $25.00 he was given for his birthday he decided to use it to buy either Bibles and tracks or a lantern for missionaries in India.
We love you Austin and we are so proud of you! It is amazing to see what the Lord is doing in you! May He continue to bless you and use you for His glory! -Dad & Mom

Here are some pictures from Austin's Birthday party on Nov. 29th.