This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.~Amanda Soule

Today:: The beginning of 2011

(Ayla took this picture! This is my new haircut to start out the new year!)

Today is the beginning of the year for me. I know, you say it is the 4th; what are you talking about?

Well... The doctor told me today that I can walk on both my legs now. My knee is healing beautifully he said, and even though I have a lot of physical therapy ahead of me, this news makes me oh-so-happy.
I haven't been able to hold my baby boy in 4 weeks and walk him to soothe him to sleep. I have felt so helpless in the whole realm of the house because all I could really do was crutch around. I know, many others have way more obstacles to overcome. This was mine though. Being responsible for 3 little ones and not really being able to meet any of their needs is hard. Really hard. I am so thankful for my husband and all the work he has put into this family in the last 4 weeks. He has been truly amazing.
I can only hope that I can repay him someway. I try to be very easy going and handle things. He has been going at least once a week to the gym with the neighbor to climb the rock wall a couple times, also a weekly soccer game is a recent thing too. At least it is something.

So having all this time to sit and stew... I have made a couple of personal rules to live by for at least the next 6 months; maybe a year.

#1:: No buying clothing for any of the immediate family members, unless they fit in this criteria :: have to be handmade in the USA :: or second-hand.

(this is huge. I have a problem with buying clothes. well, not all the time, I go through spurts, but it is never pretty :)

#2:: Try really hard to hand-make items for people's special days (i.e. birthdays, christmas, etc.) I don't think this one will be too hard, but this will help me use up the fabric and yarn that I already have, plus, people love hand made stuff, right?! HOWEVER, I will give myself an out here and give the option of buying something hand made if it comes to crunch time. I don't want myself to go crazy! So etsy will surely be a place to look.
These afore mentioned people include my hubby and kids. Kids are not a problem, but Tyler is another story! He did mention he would like a robe.... but seriously, not easy!

Let's hope I can at least remotely stick to these rules. One of the tabs I have open right now is a clothing shop that does not meet this criteria... and I have 13 items in the cart! So this is going to save me money for now... until I make that purchase from Gaia Conceptions :)

Have a great Tuesday! this week sometime, I am going to list some of my favorite shops that are either local (for me, that means Oregon or Montana) or just plain awesome. Maybe I will make some shopping matches :)

Year in Review

Our Year (2010) in Review

I got this idea from a different blog, and thought it was fabulous. Also a good way to reminisce about the year that has passed and look more forward to the year ahead. So here we go::

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::JANUARY::We started One Small Change (more meatless meals) :: hurt my back (again) :: made a list of 50 things to do in 485 days (We accomplished 24/50 so far) :: celebrated Colton's half birthday :: couldn't sew much, so knit alot :: tried my hand at a picture a day :: won a giveaway ::

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::FEBRUARY::Finishing Ayla's quilt :: very itchy during the last weeks of pregnancy :: tried our hand with family cloth for the One Small Change for this month :: Ayla got her hair cut :: Valentine's Day hike up Lonepine :: made some super cute things for the soon to be Kellen (if I do say so myself!) :: clarified our savings plan (I love this post and the comments that came!) ::

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::MARCH::Welcomed Baby Kellen into the family!! (This is my favorite thing of the whole year) :: March One Small Change was lowering the thermostat :: Participated in a Vintage Swap :: Lots of family visiting :: started walking and eliminating things from diet to help Kellen :: Kellen's first bath ::

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::APRIL::One Small Change is take a plastic bag for garbage on walks and hang laundry out (didn't do too well on either of these :( ) :: Put our house up for sale :: Easter egg hunt and books :: start of the bypass construction :: started up some post-baby projects (niece Natalie was turning one!) :: gave up dairy for Kellen's sake :: started the Green Smoothie challenge (I need to go back to this!) :: playing in the park in the sunshine :: bought some 5 finger barefoot shoes :: kids craft with old sewing machine :: Kellen is starting to smile

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::MAY::Tyler ordered me a Lisa Leonard necklace that I LOVE! :: local photographer, Alicia Brown, took newborn pictures of Kellen :: actually made a couple more things for the family :: Tyler turned 28 (I love this post; makes me tear up) :: won three different blogging giveaways! :: kids playing a lot of doctor themed play :: made some weight loss goals :: our first (and Kellen's first EVER) camping trip of the season :: farmshare started :: hiked alot with friends :: considered training for a half marathon ::

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::JUNE::hurt my knee (tore the meniscus) :: went camping in Glacier and saw our first moose! :: kids got stomach flu on said camping trip :: Kellen reached 16 lbs. :: knitted alot with Kellen on my lap :: Colton learned to ride a 2 wheeler (with no training wheels) :: fun in the sprinkler :: mosquito infested camping trip! :: messes revealed in Truthful Tuesday's ::

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::JULY::Kellen had first taste of solid food :: another moose sighting :: more camping :: visitor's from Oregon (Granna, Papa and cousin Jaden!) and my brother and boyfriend from Maryland came too! :: Colton turned 4! :: kid's journals :: Our grizzly bear encounter! :: and even more camping

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::AUGUST::went rock climbing with our wonderful neighbors (now Tyler is hooked!) :: made homemade bagels :: made Kellen some AWESOME new pants :: crossed over to Canada for a camping trip; saw lots of bears :: picked lots of raspberries :: hosted my first giveaway :: went to Yellowstone and to Grand Teton with good friends (pics here and here)

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::SEPTEMBER::Lots of homemade goodness for Ayla's birthday :: Colton started preschool :: I turned 30! :: Kellen turned 6 months old :: we got family pictures done by the lovely Alicia :: Ayla turned 3 (here, too) :: me and the kids headed for a trip to Oregon sans Tyler

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::OCTOBER::shared our Oregon trip here and here :: volunteered :: went to the pumpkin patch :: got an itch to get rid of things :: Tyler went to Vegas for a couple of days :: we got our beautiful pictures back :: went to Glacier for an impromptu fishing trip as a family, and met up with a train :: went to Mexico! :: had a great Halloween

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::NOVEMBER::found a great high chair for a great price :: trying to simplify dinner plans :: won another giveaway! :: knitted some sweaters for Christmas :: chugging along on my Christmas gifts :: made family tree pillows :: Tyler shot a deer :: Kellen's first encounter with snow :: :: went to Oregon for Thanksgiving (once again bringing a pretty decent cold and not being able to visit as much as we want)

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::DECEMBER::hurried to get Christmas presents done early :: MORE pictures from Alicia! :: went sledding before the surgery :: had knee surgery :: Ayla's doll got a washing :: got our Christmas tree early (a little too early!) :: the kids really enjoyed the decorating for the season :: lots of knitting being done :: made lots of snowflakes and hung them up around the house :: Kellen started crawling/scooting :: Tyler made a tutu for Ayla :: Christmas was wonderful :: tree was taken down on Christmas day ::

we have been so lucky to have such a great year. Hopefully this next year is just as awesome! I have a feeling it will be. Life is good. I hope your life is as wonderfully full as ours is; everyone should be this lucky.
(right now i am snuggled on my bed in the living room (because of the knee) with a kitty in the crook of my arm, my kids playing around, my husband tending both the kids and the house.... all I need is some chocolate and a cup of chai... perfection!)

Through Ayla's Eyes

Ayla has a huge want to be a photographer. She sees our camera and wants to take grab it and take pictures. She is actually really good and sometimes I am amazed at her eye for good pics. Maybe she will take it up as a hobby in her future. Maybe she will be like Alicia :)
I might make this a regular thing... I know Ayla will get a kick out of it. I sure do love that girl. Last night I was thinking about the kids and how old they are (and how fast they got there!) and I realized that Ayla only just turned 3! (in September) A good majority of the time, I forget how much younger she is than Colton! She is actually really mature for her age, and can speak very well for her age. I hope to keep remembering just how old she is, and not lump her together with Colton. They both deserve their own time for each age, don't they?

Christmas Season

The Christmas season is pretty much behind us here. We took down all the decorations yesterday (due to our tree being a pretty serious fire hazard!). But that doesn't mean that this Christmas wasn't full and special here in our house.
I woke up to hearing whispers (think:: our bed is downstairs, right in the living room, and was right next to the tree!) and little feet scampering back to the stairs. And more whispers and then two REALLY excited kids coming out and inspecting what Santa left for them. I think they were pretty happy. Ayla got a box of dress up clothes (mostly pink) and Colton got a cool firetruck. Kellen got a star that we have been meaning to get for him before we leave Montana (since the other two have one and when he gets older, he may realize that). It was the sweetest Christmas just for the simple fact that Tyler and I really enjoyed seeing the wonderment and magic alight on our kids faces. We talked a lot about what kind of emotional hardship it will be when our kids find out the truth.

Speaking of truth, I really felt like this Christmas I couldn't do much, but I did watch my kids and how they were reacting to all the "getting". And I wasn't very happy with it. They seem to think that it is a season of "getting", and I know this to be our fault. So it is my goal for next year to really get involved with more giving. I have thought of a couple different scenarios:: pick a giving project each month, and go out with a bang next Christmas (meaning a really good one for December!) or for the month of December do something "giving" every day leading up to Christmas. I do lean towards the first because I really would like my kids to know that giving is an all year thing, not just during the "season". What do you guys think?

We spent Christmas Eve morning with some of our favorite people, the neighbors, Luke and Becca and their adorable girls. We exchanged small gifts and had chocolate croissants and just talked and enjoyed the company. Last year, we did something of the sort with some other wonderful neighbors (although they sadly moved this year to Idaho :( )
Then we had a great steak dinner. Watched a Christmas movie and went to bed... well, tried to go to bed. Colton could not go to sleep, he was too excited. So we waited until 11pm when he went to bed, and then we could set up for morning. It was great. All of it.
Tyler got climbing (rock) gear. He seems to really enjoy it, and Colton does too, so I think it may be something that they or we as a family will continue to do.
I received some wonderful gifts, one of my favorites being a knitting kit with different needles (I have taken a real liking to knitting lately. In fact, alot of people on my gift list received something knitted by me this year!) And the kids got me awesome socks! I love a good pair of socks!

I am debating what to spend my Christmas money on:: I recently revisited a shop that I LOVE (in fact, I covet almost everything in it!) and I think I may splurge and buy an outfit. I have really decided that I want that style. I love its simplicity. The shop is called Gaia Conceptions, on Etsy. I recommend you don't visit, you might get hooked!!! I am finding it SUPER hard to say just what I would like, but I think I am narrowed down to this or this. I absolutely love how the first looks with the dress underneath (which would be a future purchase), I think I would order it in the same color shown (terracotta); and the second one is just so pretty (I would order this in a blue or grey, which is shown)! And versatile. I am thinking I would need these anyhow (in chocolate), also.... oh, the choices! Or check out this.
I figure if I limit myself to one outfit from there a year, I could slowly make a wardrobe. Right? Plus, maybe I could get ideas of my own, and make some myself? I am trying to justify the extravagant cost!

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. ~Soulemama
How sweet is it that my husband so willingly took the task of making a tutu for our dear little girl?! I love that he is so moldable :)

This kid

This kid is so many things. I cannot believe he is already nine months old! 3/4 of a year?! How did it happen. Just last week we brought him home from the hospital! He really keeps us entertained around here... funny faces (one we affectionately call his "yuck face" ... think face all scrunched up; so cute!), fascinations with the cats, his little gibberish that he says all the time! How he has a love/hate relationship with his sister (she loves to smother him!)
I am really loving his little personality that is peaking through, and I can't wait to see what/who he will become in the years to come.
His brother and sister are both equally adorable, and I love them unconditionally; but today, most of the pictures on the camera were of this adorable little face!