Friday, May 27, 2011
Girl
I just wanted to document how cute Toby is when he says 'girl', it's more like 'gurl'. I asked him if he was ready to do something and he yelled out "Yeah, let's do it gurl!" (Just like what his daddy would say to me). He definitely knows how to get me to laugh, that's for sure.
We've been busy...
as you might have noticed. Just trying to keep out head above water at times it seems. But we are doing well. We definitely feel like we're dropping the ball on some areas of our life while trying to juggle it all.
This is what we've been up to:
-California Trip, for Jeff & Julia's wedding
-Yakima Trip
-Varsity House Alumni meeting in Corvallis
-Doctors appointments
-Dentist appointments
-Jamie teaching Sunday School, and lots of church
-We put a offer in on a short sale house, it's been keeping us on our toes waiting.
-Playing outside everyday in the sand box, playing soccer, t-ball, digging for worms, watching our watermelon seeds not grow (poor Toby), sweeping my hardwoods 4 times a day from all the sand that gets dragged/dumped in, healing and treating little owies, watching Jack hit his 'terrible twos' a little early, bribing Toby to not have any 'freak outs'...
-Meeting with friends
-Jamie's weekly Ultimate Frisbee
-Me listening to our neighbors tag team me about how to treat the lawn, how to mow the lawn, how to edge the lawn, etc, etc, at least twice a day.
-Listening to our neighbor/tenant (who is 66 years old) tell me about how him and his girlfriend have 'Frech-Kissed'...I threw up a little in my mouth on that one.
We've learned something. We are very ready to not have neighbors this close and up in our business. Don't get me wrong, we have been soooo extremely blessed to get this duplex and be able to live here so cheaply because of it. But our road is a retired people road. We are the acception. It comes with many ups and downs. Let me document some:
Up's:
-No one would ever dare break into a house down here, we have eyes EVERYWHERE.
-They know every single car that lives on the street and if a unknown car comes down (its a dead end) then be sure to watch your back, you may not see them, but they are watching you. (this is also a down)
-Everyone is very friendly, and loves to chit chat all day long. It is a very normal site to have all of the neighbors hanging out in another's yard drinking iced tea together.
-You always have someone to get your mail, keep a eye on your house, etc if you leave town.
-If you don't have a certain tool, you don't need to run to Home Depot to buy one. Someone will have one that they would gladly let you borrow.
-If you are ever bored then just step outside your door. There is someone to talk to.
Downs:
-There are eyes everywhere.
-They have the same expectations out of us as they do the other neighbors that sit at home all day, while Jamie's week is literally planned out by the hour.
-We get bugged about mowing the lawn as soon as it's 1/4 inch over grown. This one kills me. There are at least 5,000,000 things more important to us than making sure we have the most beautifully manicured grass on the street, yet our tenant would whole heartedly disagree. And trust me, you want a happy tenant.
-As soon as Jamie pulls in the drive from work, he get's hit by one of the time-warps. He will be outside stuck talking with one of the neighbors while dinner is getting cold and children are standing at the screen door banging on it chanting/screaming "DADA! DADA! DADA!"
-They know every move you make. Seriously. They will see that Jamie left for work early on a Friday and know that it means that we are leaving town, if we were in Yakima last then they will know we are going to Eugene that day. Creepy.
-Toby screams. A lot. We call it his 'freak outs'. I have no place to put him while his fit runs it's course that one of the neighbors won't here. I can only assure that they think we abuse him.
We have had some ups and downs with living here for sure, but we knew that this is where the Lord has us for this season. I feel/hope that we're at the end of that season. I'm claustrophobic here. I grew up in the country and miss having the space. We're praying that we can find the right place to live, at the right time. We're totally trusting that the Lord will show us someway or another. I know that many other people would feel right at home here, it's just a difference of what I'm used to. Living this close to others is so odd to me. I like my privacy. A lot. I dream of the boys having a yard that doesn't back to 3 other houses. Where we can BBQ in the back yard and not have to whisper our private conversations. Am I freak for wanting this? But at the same time the Lord has taught me many lessons by living here. He has grown me in some neat ways and I know that I wouldn't have learned those things by living in my 'dream house'. Lesson learned, always trust Him. Be content in all situations, and make the best of it.
This is what we've been up to:
-California Trip, for Jeff & Julia's wedding
-Yakima Trip
-Varsity House Alumni meeting in Corvallis
-Doctors appointments
-Dentist appointments
-Jamie teaching Sunday School, and lots of church
-We put a offer in on a short sale house, it's been keeping us on our toes waiting.
-Playing outside everyday in the sand box, playing soccer, t-ball, digging for worms, watching our watermelon seeds not grow (poor Toby), sweeping my hardwoods 4 times a day from all the sand that gets dragged/dumped in, healing and treating little owies, watching Jack hit his 'terrible twos' a little early, bribing Toby to not have any 'freak outs'...
-Meeting with friends
-Jamie's weekly Ultimate Frisbee
-Me listening to our neighbors tag team me about how to treat the lawn, how to mow the lawn, how to edge the lawn, etc, etc, at least twice a day.
-Listening to our neighbor/tenant (who is 66 years old) tell me about how him and his girlfriend have 'Frech-Kissed'...I threw up a little in my mouth on that one.
We've learned something. We are very ready to not have neighbors this close and up in our business. Don't get me wrong, we have been soooo extremely blessed to get this duplex and be able to live here so cheaply because of it. But our road is a retired people road. We are the acception. It comes with many ups and downs. Let me document some:
Up's:
-No one would ever dare break into a house down here, we have eyes EVERYWHERE.
-They know every single car that lives on the street and if a unknown car comes down (its a dead end) then be sure to watch your back, you may not see them, but they are watching you. (this is also a down)
-Everyone is very friendly, and loves to chit chat all day long. It is a very normal site to have all of the neighbors hanging out in another's yard drinking iced tea together.
-You always have someone to get your mail, keep a eye on your house, etc if you leave town.
-If you don't have a certain tool, you don't need to run to Home Depot to buy one. Someone will have one that they would gladly let you borrow.
-If you are ever bored then just step outside your door. There is someone to talk to.
Downs:
-There are eyes everywhere.
-They have the same expectations out of us as they do the other neighbors that sit at home all day, while Jamie's week is literally planned out by the hour.
-We get bugged about mowing the lawn as soon as it's 1/4 inch over grown. This one kills me. There are at least 5,000,000 things more important to us than making sure we have the most beautifully manicured grass on the street, yet our tenant would whole heartedly disagree. And trust me, you want a happy tenant.
-As soon as Jamie pulls in the drive from work, he get's hit by one of the time-warps. He will be outside stuck talking with one of the neighbors while dinner is getting cold and children are standing at the screen door banging on it chanting/screaming "DADA! DADA! DADA!"
-They know every move you make. Seriously. They will see that Jamie left for work early on a Friday and know that it means that we are leaving town, if we were in Yakima last then they will know we are going to Eugene that day. Creepy.
-Toby screams. A lot. We call it his 'freak outs'. I have no place to put him while his fit runs it's course that one of the neighbors won't here. I can only assure that they think we abuse him.
We have had some ups and downs with living here for sure, but we knew that this is where the Lord has us for this season. I feel/hope that we're at the end of that season. I'm claustrophobic here. I grew up in the country and miss having the space. We're praying that we can find the right place to live, at the right time. We're totally trusting that the Lord will show us someway or another. I know that many other people would feel right at home here, it's just a difference of what I'm used to. Living this close to others is so odd to me. I like my privacy. A lot. I dream of the boys having a yard that doesn't back to 3 other houses. Where we can BBQ in the back yard and not have to whisper our private conversations. Am I freak for wanting this? But at the same time the Lord has taught me many lessons by living here. He has grown me in some neat ways and I know that I wouldn't have learned those things by living in my 'dream house'. Lesson learned, always trust Him. Be content in all situations, and make the best of it.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Jack's Interview
I had to do video form for our buddy Jack since his language is obviously not as advanced as Toby's. But I didn't think you would mind. :) Sorry it's pretty quiet, at least on my computer, I had to turn the volume all the way up to hear it.
And I'll answer some of Jack's favorite things for him.
Jacks Favorite:
Food: Pizza, blueberries, cheese, cookies
You Tube video:
Cartoon character: Elmo and Caillou (or Melmo and Caicoo as he calls them)
Person to play with: Toby and Dada
Person to cuddle with: Mama
Person to copy: Toby
Game to play: Tickle people, and get chased
New nickname: Bruiser (do you see his poor little beat up face?! The black eye is courtesy of a cupboard corner that he opened very forcefully into his face, the bruise line on the other side of his face is from falling into a edge of a wall, and the new one in between his eyes surfaced after nap time today...)
Thing to do: follow Toby and Mama everywhere, and whine whenever he doesn't get exactly as he wants, all the time. And be irresistibly cute so he never gets into trouble. ;)
Thing to show off: how he can scoop up dirt in his shovel just like Toby, then proceed to carry it into the house to show me (while spilling the contents everywhere)
Animal: he said "moooo!" as in a cow
Book: his Bible
Thing to withhold from Toby: hugs, handholding, or almost any affection other than wrestling
Toy: balloons, or bubbles
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Toby's Interview
I asked Toby if he would like it if I interviewed him and he said "Sure!" I wrote things exactly as he said it and if he mispronounced something I wrote it like that. Here goes nothing...
What is your favorite color?
-Green, purple, orange, pink and red...all those favorite colors are my favorite colors.
What is your favorite animal? And why?
-Giraffe, frogs, and elephants. Because.
What is your favorite food?
-Trees, and broccoli, and celery. (fyi: he has never had celery, and by trees he means 'broccoli')
Who is your best friend?
- Jack!...Dada!
-Oh mama, do you know what I want to do now? Shoot ping pong balls!!!! Can we do it now? Shoot ping pong balls? (we have a ping pong catapult that Uncle Michael built for him a while ago)
What's your favorite game?
- no more questions Mama.
....5 minutes later, after riding his cow toy.
What is your favorite movie on the computer? (As in YouTube, this is not an activity I do with the boys, but whenever I get home from doing something and the boys were left with Jamie I will always find them on the computer laughing hysterically at a new video)
-(in a sing songy voice) You hit me in the face with a soccer ball! (not a personal favorite of mine)
His previous favorite was 'Baby monkey riding on a pig' featured below...he proudly knows all the words. Wow.
...10 minutes later after
Do you our baby to be a boy or girl?
-Just a baby!
What is your favorite thing to do outside?
-I love to play outside! I like to plant seeds. Oh! Mama! Let's go see our seeds outside!
Whats the funniest thing you've ever seen?
-You hit me in the face with a soccer ball! (see the video above)
What's your favorite song?
-Jesus loves the little children!
What's your favorite thing to do with jack?
-Play together. And wrestle.
What's your favorite drink?
-Hot chocolate.
What's your favorite store?
-Target is my favorite store. Because I like cookies. I like cookies Mama. (I don't recall ever buying cookies from Target...I think this is a subtle hint)
What's your favorite thing to do at church?
-Stories! I like David and Goliathis stories, and David stories.
When you are big enough to drive, what kind of car do you want to drive?
-A green car like at Grandma and Granddads! (I think he's talking about Aphid the bright green VW Beetle)
Ok boy's, 10 minutes until nap time...why don't you run around to get your energy out?
-But I want my energy in!!!
Well...I hope you guys enjoyed that bit of randomness from Toby as much as I did.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Adami Tulu Project
Hey friends and family!
I just wanted to encourage you all to go to one of our fellow Holt families (that also live is Sherwood!) website. Check out the neat things they are doing to help out orphans in Ethiopia. They are having a online auction RIGHT NOW, to help fund the rest of their project. Please consider bidding on something :)
http://adamituluproject.blogspot.com/
I just wanted to encourage you all to go to one of our fellow Holt families (that also live is Sherwood!) website. Check out the neat things they are doing to help out orphans in Ethiopia. They are having a online auction RIGHT NOW, to help fund the rest of their project. Please consider bidding on something :)
http://adamituluproject.blogspot.com/
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