things were a little rough around here for a few days this week.....
wren and tekoa weren't feeling well and neiko cut 2 teeth in 3 days.

our weekend was busy. we spent most of saturday at the new house. i tried to stain some cedar planks for our outdoor ceilings and tried to paint shutters as dave made them.
needless to say the kids and i were all covered in paint by the end of the day :)

our first 'before church worship session' went really well on sunday. we had a good turn out and the singing sounded amazing. it's kind of a big step for my church and i'm really excited to be a part of it- even though this is the craziest time in my life to take it on.......funny how i feel like i keep saying that but then keep adding to my workload and it somehow all comes out all right......most of the time.....

sunday afternoon we only had the three littlest kids so we tried to order our paint for the walls and then we tried to eat dinner at a restaurant.
neither went as we had hoped.
the evening ended with us walking out of the restaurant- dave and wren covered in puke, and neiko and I soaked with pee.
i thought it was kinda funny, but dave did not :)

monday night i stayed at the new house really late with the kids trying to shop vac some of the dust to get ready for paint. by the time we got home we were all really tired and covered in drywall dust which made for a not so fun bedtime.

yesterday was our annual music performance at the courthouse for the kid's school- which was moved to the mall because of the weather. the kids did REALLY well. they sounded great. and i was too busy leading up to yesterday to even think about being nervous which worked out well :)

neiko is 10 months old today :) he is growing and changing so quickly. he learned pat-a-cake last week and is definitely taking steps now.
last night he let go of the leg of his high chair on his own and walked to me. it was amazing :)
he is so funny.
he is a SMART boy- and he LOVES to tease. he loves getting a reaction from me and the other kids. the second he knows anyone doesn't want him to do something he gets this big grin on his face and goes at it full force- but just for a minute and then he stops on his own.
he crawls sooooo fast- it's hilarious. he's starting to use a foot and a knee instead of both knees to make himself faster and it looks so funny.
he has been letting me cuddle with him more the last few days and i LOVE it. tonight he laid his head on my shoulder and played with my hair for a long time. and every now and then he would tip his head back and close his eyes just waiting for me to kiss him.
and my heart would melt....



we have the date set (june 8th) for our first in-home visit for our home study. i'm a little nervous about how it will go, but i know that i don't need to be. this is God's doing and it will always be.
but i just might need to call in some reinforcements to help get this house in shape before then.....

wren turns 2 this weekend. and i have mixed emotions on that. at least she's not my last baby anymore- softens the blow a little :)
she is talking so much. she is at that really fun age where she says new things all the time and it takes me quite awhile to figure out what she is saying. but she patiently repeats herself until i get it :)
some of her latest phrases are, "wait for me!" "i'm coming in there too!" "love you have a good day!" "what doing, mom?"
she watched a movie with the older kids last night while some of my cousins were over and this morning i asked her if she like the movie and she said, "it kinda scary, mom." she only had to repeat that one 3 times before i understood her. :)

tekoa has been getting her own ice for her drinks lately.
she opens the freezer and then pulls up a chair and reaches into the ice maker to get it.
a few days ago she told me, "i love ice, mom. and sometimes when my hands are really sticky i wash them with ice."
i said, "you do? .......then what do you do with the ice when you're done?"
"oh, i just put it back into the ice maker...."
luckily I don't ever use ice. just dave and the kids. and our guests....

shaeya and tyden have 1 more week of school. they are really excited.
and i am failing miserably right now at getting them to bed on time and helping them with homework, so i am looking forward to living with a little less guilt when school is out. :)

wednesday is their end-of-school field trip and also shaeya's 7th birthday.
she makes me smile just thinking about her. so confident and helpful and talkative.
she's still asking for a real horse for her birthday like she has every year since she turned 4 :)
i wonder if she'll ever give up.....

here are the most recent house pictures- things are starting to come together!!!!