Sicknesses and Snow

The kids have been getting over a cold... you know the cough, runny nose and general stuffiness. AND NOW Kellen has a fever. Last night it got as high as 102.5! Thank goodness for Advil, and mama's patience. (Tyler was gone last night) We didn't get much sleep.
But he seems in good spirits when he is medicated, and we might make the trip to our wonderful doc later today.
And later today, we are supposed to get a pretty good snowstorm. Unfortunately, Tyler will be driving home in it. But he is pretty used to this weather by now. I try not to worry about him constantly.
Isn't Kellen so cute in these legwarmers and woolie? I just couldn't resist taking pictures of his cute little bum!And Ayla feeding him a bottle... he is one of my babies that actually takes a bottle quite well. Such a sweet boy.

Lone Pine

We have a state park by our house called Lone Pine. It is such a great place to hike and explore nature, and I have missed it so much on this knee hiatus! We went up there the other day for a class for the kids, and then we went back later and hiked around. It seems every year around Valentine's Day we head up there... I think by then we are itching to be out in the wilderness. So, I thought I would share a few photos from our time up there, and then some from past February's.

From February 2009::

From February 2010:: From this year ::

I will really miss this place come May.

One Small Change's progress

Our One Small Change for the month of January was to eat more meatless meals; and that we have! Every week, I have been making a menu, and we have been sticking to them more or less (with a few oatmeal days here and there!). So I call this a huge success, and one that I will be continuing.
It is kind of funny because this also coincides with our decision to stick to a food budget. And this was also a success. We set a certain amount and kept a log on an envelope. We did actually go over it by about $50, but considering before this we were spending about $6-700 a month on food (yeah, I don't know how that happened!) I thought that $460 was a great amount. We are going to probably keep it at around $450 because we are including going out in this amount too. And sometimes it is worth that extra money to NOT have to clean up your kitchen, or prepare a yummy meal. At least at 9 months pregnant!
I also have been setting goals in my crafting and things, and this month, so far I have come so close. Good thing I have a couple more days- Ayla's quilt isn't going to get done on it's own. And the second bootie is coming along... probably about 1 more hour on it? I am going knitting tonight at the coffee house, so maybe I will be able to get it finished!

I would have put new pictures on here, but I can't seem to find the camera. We have some cute ones of the kids playing outside. Ayla has been wearing a purple snowsuit pretty much all day long. Then Colton will decide to get his on, and they get their gloves and snowboots and head out the back door. They cannot wait until Spring and Summer. Neither can I.

Close ups

The two sweetest kids EVER!!

Sometimes it seems during the winter, especially in February, it is hard to think of what is to come. Most of the time we are focused on the snow and the cold and the dreariness of it all. But I look at these two cuties and remember that the future is bright with lots of color and full of fun... I am so excited to see what the future brings. But for now, I am trying ti focus on the today, so here is my list of things I am grateful for today...
1. Great family... we had such a great visit with Roxanne, Danielle and Aiden. Can;t wait to do it again hopefully sooner than later!
2. My mom! She is such a fighter... she just received results from her CT and MRI scans, and it shows practically no changes from when she was first diagnosed! Yeah! She is amazing to have gone more than four years with this cancer thing, and NOT letting it grow!!!
3. Snotty kisses... cause that is all I'm getting (well, Tyler is not snotty, but the kids are!)
4. Icy roads today, cause Tyler doesn't have to work until later!
5. Knitting... I did a lot of knitting this past weekend, just visiting and knitting, and I got pretty far on a sweater for Ayla (poor Colton never gets anything cause girl stuff is just so cute!)
6. A wonderful husband who does such a great job putting up with my craziness and cleaning so much better than I do!
7. The way my kids say "beep beep" when they are backing up or riding their bikes backwards... it is so darn cute!
8. Leftovers; it makes it so easy to make a good dinner and not have too much stuff to clean up.
9. Soulemama's website for reminding me to enjoy winter for all IT'S glory.
10. Almost being finished with the licensing process for foster care... we are excited and nervous all at the same time!

What are your top ten things to be grateful for?

Inside days

We have been spending most of our days indoors with the weather being so cold and Ayla with the massive runny nose (She is still cute with shiny cheeks and snot though!). We have been busy getting ready for Grammy Roxanne and Aunt Danielle and Cousin Aiden, as they are coming tomorrow. The house is still a mess and we really don't have a lot of food in the house (other than deer meat) but we will make due. We have been coloring alot and I have been knitting up a storm trying to finish another baby "sleeping bag" for our family friend Jody. It turned out quite nice and actually in the Seahawk (or Mariner) colors; but that is okay, Jody lives in Seattle :) Colton picked out the colors. All in all we are all well, and just loving the snow and contemplating life.

Kids busy "fixing" the tractors. They both fight over the screwdrivers to "fix" them. So cute!

Colton very concentrated on his drawing... he is getting quite good.

Playing in the toybox. Oh, the things they find.

This is the sleeping bag for baby... I love the texture and colors! And it only took all my spare time for 3 days! Hope she likes it.

Our New Years weekend

So we started our new year off on a bad foot for little Colton... on New Year's Eve we had some neighbors over and when Tyler and I took the kids upstairs to go to bed, I was dragging Colton up the last step and he started crying about his arm... so he refused to move it for 2 days and we put it up in a sling (a playsilk from Aunt Danielle) which worked great! So he is better as of now, and seems to have forgotten the ordeal!

How cute is he in the sling though?
Today (Saturday) we took the kids sledding in the neighborhood. We each went down once, and then Tyler took both kids down... bad idea! They went in the powder and got snow everywhere on their little faces! They began to cry and it was time to go home.. but that is okay, it was worth a try! I got a chance to go snowshoeing yesterday with my good friend Jill and that was a blast! We hiked up through at least a foot of snow to the top of Lone Pine in our backyard... it was definitely worth it!

Ayla loves the snow and has such a good time trudging around. Her new boots keep her feet warm and dry.