Thursday, February 28, 2008

Leupold Girl

Miriam is showing off her enthusiasm for Daddy's new job by sporting his new Leupold gear.



 

PAINT!!

Miriam got these paints for her birthday from our dear friends.  They are the perfect size and shape for little hands.

I was sure glad to find that the paint can be washed out of and off of anything!  She also got that cute shirt for her birthday.  (Thank you Grandma Pat!)  it is one of her favorites.  In fact she picked it out that morning.  In Miriam's world pants are optional but you have to have a cute shirt!

~Christina

Daddy's Boat Chick

Every guy needs a cute girl sunning herself on the deck of his boat..... so Miriam is practicing.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

YMCA

Last week Adriel got our family a membership to the YMCA.  This has been very exciting for us.  new classes start in the first week of April so there is just enough time to find our way around and get use to being there before the classes start.  2 hours of daily childcare is included with membership, which means I can work out without worrying about the kids!  Abbie and Miriam are going to be doing gymnastics and David might be doing swimming.  We are still talking about the details but it should be fun for all.  Next tuesday I have my first meeting with a "fitness coach".  They don't work out with you like a personal trainer but they help you make a plan and get it going.  I get to meet with her 6 times.  I am a little nervous but it will be a good thing and I am glad I am doing it.

~Christina 

Monday, February 25, 2008

This week - 2.19.08

This week was one of those times when you squeeze school in around real life.  Adriel's job transition and getting ready for my Dad's surprise 50th birthday party took most of my time.  We started learning about Africa in our unit study this week.  Kenya to be exact.  The kids colored their flags of Kenya and David is learning about grasslands in science.  Latin was a review chapter so we were working on English derivatives and in math we started a new book, all about fractions.

As for Abigail, she had the most fun getting her hair curled but she still managed to fit in a little math and grammar.  Enough to make it to the halfway point in her math book.  This kid really likes math!  She didn't understand why her new neighbor friend didn't enjoy Abigail making up math problems for her to do.

We have discovered a six-year-old girl living just two doors down and Abigail is thrilled to have a friend near by.  I am excited that the little girl has a fifteen-year-old sister!

So it was a busy week of meeting new friends, transitioning to a new job (and medical plan) and getting ready for my Dad's party but it was a lot of fun!

~Christina 

Friday, February 22, 2008

Starting a new adventure

Today I said my last goodbyes to coworkers at SAIF. It was surreal. The last drive into work this morning, cleaning out my desk, answering emails for the last time. It is hard to say goodbye to what I know. For more than four years I have worked closely with team members to build SAIF's web presence and now I'm confident they will be able to carry on without me. (Go Brigitte, Go Ben!)

Monday I start in my new position at Leupold.  I'm excited about the new opportunities, the new direction, and the possibilities. Many things will be the same and many things will be different. 

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

To much birthday

Our birthday girl got very sleepy and crashed while watching the big boys play a racing game. It was a wonderful, exhausting birthday for our little girl.





Isn't she sweet?

Birthday Time

Here are some pictures from Miriam's second birthday party. It was sort of a spur-of-the-moment thing because we were not sure until that morning if the birthday girl had the flu or not.







Abigail has always wanted curls but the poor kid has my hair. Not a wavy wisp to be found. However, it can be curled. Our friend Rebecca came over and taught us to do rag curls. The result in Abbie's short hair is um, interesting, but she says they are the curls she has always wanted and was quite thrilled. She won't even let me run my fingers through them to loosen them at all. No one is allowed to touch her perfect little curls.



Before - The orphan Annie look?


After - Curly top

Ok, so you can't really see the curls in this picture but think "poodle" and you will be pretty close!

Saturday, February 16, 2008

What was lost is now found

I was convinced that Miriam had lost me keys. They were last seen with her and lately she has very much enjoyed "helping" by throwing things away for me. I regularly find her morning cereal bowl helpfully cleared into the trash can. After 2 weeks of lost keys and looking under EVERYTHING I gave up. The logic said that my sweet baby had thrown away my keys out of the kindness of her heart and they were gone. So I have been keyless for over a month now and last night Adriel found them tucked in between the bed and hop chest. I checked under there three or four times so I don't know how they escaped me . I could not believe it but I am thrilled!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Spring is in the air

Today is one of those perfect Oregon days. The kind of day that reminds you why you put up with the rain and grey skys to live in this land of green. It's still cool enough for a sweater but the sun is out and there are giant cotton puff clouds drifting overhead. It's the kind of day that pulls you outside to live in it. The girls and I blew off school today in favor of playing on the swing set and having a picnic on the deck. I know it will rain again and get colder again before spring is truly here but days like this remind me that Spring is indeed coming and we have much to look forward to. Before long we will be taking our Latin books out to the deck and doing math in side walk chalk. This is a good time for changes and renewal. The changing of seasons reminds me to spice up our learning to keep things fun and I guess it helps to ease the transitions we will all be making as Adriel starts his new job. So happy Spring time to everyone!

New Adventures

Adriel has accepted the position of Senior Web Designer at Leopuld and Steven's. We are all very excited about this new job and the opportunities it opens up. So after many years at SAIF he is moving on and will start at Leopuld on Monday the 25th. It has been wonderful to see God's hand in this process with the timing of everything and so many small details. We can truly thank the Lord for his guidance.