Happy Birthday Allie

Alile turns 7 today! I can't believe that it's been 7 years already. Sometimes she seems so old but then again she is still my little girl. I wish I could slow down time and keep her from getting any older. We're so blessed to have her in our family. She is a beautiful, wonderful girl who has done so well in her first 7 years--I'm excited to see what she will become in 7 more. She is so talented, smart, loving, beautiful, helpful, funny, sweet, and reponsible. I hate to be too proud, but I think she is just wonderful. She said she wanted a locket with a picture of her Mom and Dad or a cell phone for her birthday. Hmm...we'll see what happens. I'll post birthday pics later. Here's some pics of her when she was younger (we didn't get a digital camera until she was almost 3--so these are just some of the digital ones I had--no time to scan the older ones)

Something overheard

This afternoon I was sitting on the couch nursing Kate while Allie was unloading the dishwasher. She did something and dramatically said, "Oh great, Mom's gonna kill me!" I then heard a little boy who was coloring in the laundry room mumble quietly to himself, "Oh good, then I get to be the first and the oldest"
Luke cracks me up.

Park Hopping

Two scaredy cats

Allie braving the descent

The Conquerors

One of the best things about Oregon is that there are lots and lots of parks. When we are out running around, if Kate needs to nurse, I just pull into a park so that they kids can play. Today we discovered this fake rock to climb. The funny thing was that once they got to the top, they were a little scared to come down and were stuck. I had Kate and didn't think climbing up there with her would work. So after a few minutes, some funny pictures, and teasing that I was leaving I finally convinced Allie to give it a try. She made it but Luke would not come down. So I climbed up halfway and helped him down. I was thinking, "Hooray, now maybe he will be more cautious", but as soon as his feet touched the ground he was climbing up again. They wanted to do muscle shots to show they had "conquered the rock"

PS Maybe by the next post Luke will have a haircut--he keeps begging me to cut it. He likes it short.

9 Years!

Today is our 9 year anniversary! Wow! 9 years! Way to go team!

Baby Galyan

Neil and Jill had their baby girl on Monday, May 5th. Hooray! We're so glad she's finally here and can't wait until we get to see her. (We can't wait to find out her name either!)

"Uncle" Neil?

Just a funny thing that Luke said tonight. We were looking at pictures I said something like, "That's Uncle Neil" and he said, "Uncle Neil...who is that again?...oh yeah, that's Jill's wife."

Allie's Recital Song

Tonight when we were reading scriptures as a family, we sang "There is Beauty All Around" (the song that Allie played for her recital) and I realized that some people that read our blog may not know the words to the song so I thought I would post them. It's kind of a popular hymn that we sing at church. I think the words are great and strive for those moments when there is "Love at home"--To me those are certainly the most precious sought after moments in our life. There is nothing better than being home when everyone is happy and getting along. I feel so blessed to have grown up in a family where there was much love and to have my own family now that is trying to follow that example. I'm so glad that families can be together forever--it certainly wouldn't be heaven without my family. I'm learning that sometimes it takes a lot of work, but the love that can exist in a family is certainly worth the effort.
There is beauty all around,
When there's love at home;
There is joy in every sound,
When there's love at home.
Peace and plenty here abide,
Smiling sweet on every side,
Time doth softly, sweetly glide,
When there's love at home.
Love at home,
Love at home,
Time doth softly sweetly glide,
When there's love at home.