Home is where the Heart is!

* Our Home * then and now...
guess I need to get a summer picture and a fall one to share!
Spring 2005

Winter 2008

bath buddies

Okay, you know that I am not a huge bath person for the kids... even though I LOVE a good soak... so imagine how much fun they had in the hot tub after playing in the chilly snow.

Another late start

Sam was bummed today... another late start meant...
NO snow skiing for her at Mt. Hood. She was up at 5 am ready to go...
Maybe next time babe. We were sad for you Sam. Darn that snow/slush/ice!

the MANY snow day pictures!

There are quite a few pictures from our adventure. . . so it will take awhile. There are some great ones toward the end of mckenna chasing josh with snowballs! enjoy!

snow day - jack's first taste of snow!

Our precious snow crew.. in front of our duck fan snowman!

duckfan

jack was trying to figure out this white person!

"hey what is this yellow thing on you?'

Oh the joys of having little ones around...
without them today would have been spent inside doing nothing exciting...
but because of them we got to play in the snow, (jack's first time playing & eating snow) build a snowman, have a snowball fight, make snow angels, and have hot cocoa... not to mention that we had the joys of having an extra day with Josh and the girls at home.
SLIDE show to come later! :)

Aaron Brooks, Dennis Dixon, & Tracy MacGrady Sighting!!!

Okay if you know us at all... you KNOW we are obsessed with Oregon Duck Athletics! Last night was no different as Josh, Samantha, Emma, and myself drove the 2 hours (through snow in Albany) to Eugene. They were playing the UCLA Bruins who are ranked in the top 10 in the nation. It was an awesome game with the Ducks leading almost the entire game... until the last couple minutes. Down by 2 with a minute to go... needless to say ucla was bigger and better than us. But I was SO proud of the boys and how well they played, fighting until the end. College sports is SO fun and so exciting to watch even in a loss.

What else happened????
We SAW Aaron Brooks & Tracy MacGrady from the Houston Rockets!!! And of course our Football Star Dennis Dixon! Very exciting if you are sports fans!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Jenny & Eric Ermshar!!
They watched McKenna, Sydney, & Jack for us so we could have a "date" with each other & our older girls. They fed them dinner at their house... brought them to our house and stayed there until 12:30 am!!! those are TRUE friends that are hard to come by!

{Today} I . . .

enJOYed my kids... thoroughly!
sat by the fire... drinking my coffee
left my house behind (the cleaning anyway)
mailed Kaysa's gift (happy 8th birthday(yesterday) kiddo!)
went to the library checked out LOADS of books
{PLAYed} at the park (while freezing!)
watched the girls "Ice Skate" (in their rain boots!)
Oh and.. "Happy Birthday Jenny!"

and guess what, I feel REJUVENATED! Thank you God for my many blessings!

Here are my favorite pictures . . . I will do a slide later.My & my precious little man at the park

Okay... can't even say anything about how {BEAUTIFUL} this little one is. . .

sweet dude

Okay... LOVE her... I am SO lucky to have these kids!
Here is Sydney in her ice skating "rain boots"

oops mom... I fell on my rumpus! Ouch... Mckenna did so badly that she split her lip...
she said no pictures of her on the ice! :)

My {two} favorite & most handsome dudes

here they are... so wonderful, the {JOY} in most of my days! Love that Jack was kissing on daddy's head... he [adores] his daddy. When ever he hears his voice or sees him he gets SO excited! He knows that he is at the school now & when we pick up McKenna he wants to see daddy! This morning when I was giving him his bottle he heard Josh in the hall and wouldn't take another sip until daddy came in to say HI... I can't wait to see what kind of adventures these two go on in the future! Have a Happy Tuesday! I know we will... freezing, but happy! btw, they kind of look alike don't they!!! So Handsome!

Double digits!

Okay... a sad & happy day for the mommy...
What a blessing God has given us in Samantha! I am {thank}ful every time I look at her, listen to her, watch her with her sisters & brother... She is a true gift from above. I just wonder... WHERE DID THE LAST 10 YEARS GO??? She is such a grown up little lady now, never to be single digits again. How did this happen? If you want to see her pictures taken today at Flash, go here click My Portraits, type in MacLachlan, password is 2008, 1/21/08 is sitting date.

Here are the party details you've been dying for (at this point she would tell me "WORD VIOLATION" mom... nice to be corrected by your child right?) Other mommies in Mrs. Hulse's class can attest to this! [thank you Dana, I DO love you!!!]

6pm party starts (10 girls... count them 10! POOR jack!) with pizza, fresh fruit salad, juice, & homemade cupcakes by Sam, oh yeah ice cream too. Then we open gifts.. WAY too much fun!

by 7pm they are {SINGING} their lungs out to the karaoke machine upstairs, then Apples to Apples board game, and a little hide n seek.

by 8:30 we tone it down to movies, popcorn, water & apple slices. A vote is taken and they watch High School Musical & High School Musical 2. Natalia's first time. (she loved it)

12am... sing to sam as her "official" birthday commences...
12:15 AM!!! I tell girls they MUST stop talking and go to sleep.
12:30 am... I don't really hear noise, but I am in the middle of reading Summer by Karen Kingsbury (if you have read her you know how ADDICTING she is!)

1:05 AM.... finish the book, turn out the light, all is quiet.

6:30 am... jack wakes me hungry. UGH!!! did I REALLY read until 1:05 AM?
8am... Josh rewakes me saying it is time for breakfast, he already has waffles going strong... we just need eggs, stripples, juice, and my extra 2 hands.
9am... more playing, singing, and a little Hannah Montana
by 11 am all but one girl have headed home... likely to a nap...
1:30pm... head to mall for pictures, and new outfit for Sam.
Stop by Safeway back home by 4pm to make dinner for family, Uncle Jon, Auntie Mich, & Lexi
8pm... bedtime (late tonight due to SERIOUS playroom cleaning)
Cuddle time with Samantha & mommy.
10th Birthday for Samantha... a success. Happy Birthday Babe... we LOVE you!

My {BaBY} is 10... double digits...

my baby.
i can't believe that she is 10.
how did we celebrate?
sleepover with girlfriends.
up until just after midnight...
slide show to follow.
{i need to mourn the loss of single digits first}

1 Year old doctor visit - jack ryan edward

hey i found myself in the mirror...

aren't you a handsome dude... you kind of look like me!

hey what is this? crinkly paper... i think i want some of this

see my shirt... i think that you might like it!

My vitals:
Weight: 20.4 lbs - 14.62%
Height: 29 inches - 25.73%
Head: 18.5 - 69.13

Jack's new girlfriend!

Sam playing the piano..
jack & his new girlfriend( :)), ella crawled in from the other room to listen... each stood on one end of the bench.... jack was actually trying to play. he LOVES the piano, well any music really.

ella and jack crawling and playing in the hallway...
It was SO cute because they are both similar in size and with what they are doing, so when they were crawling it was just adorable! Thanks Brendan and Vesna for coming over and hanging out with us! Such fun! Can't wait for Super Bowl!

My favorite picture of the two little monkeys!
After watching Sam playing the two of them took their own turn, jack was going crazy & ella was so tired she was just watching him & playing ocassionally herself. I am looking forward to many more play dates with ella! Or should I say jack is as well! :)

littlest [duck] fan

This HAS to be the cutest little boy face ever! Kiss Kiss Kiss! (okay... MacLachlan boy face for you other mommies of precious boys!) I love his sweet profile... wearing his 1st duck hat!!! The duck shirt he has on says " I get grouchy when no one from Oregon is around to hug me" It was Samantha's when she was a baby... 10 years ago... and we were in California with no Oregonians around. Crazy how time flies... and how a t-shirt can last through 5 kids!

He has his father's eyes, long eye lashes and all.

What kind of Mom am I?

This looks okay right? Outside in cozy clothes... in 26 degree temperatures? With light snow on the ground... Wait... no hat, no coat...

but wait, she has NO shoes or socks on... what kind of mom would let her child do this?

WHAT?? running on the frozen yard barefoot? This is too much... that is what I thought too...

so we headed inside, put a few more logs on the fire and cozied in together! I will miss these days. Next year it is off to Kindergarten, and there is something about school that makes your precious little ones grow up. :( SO... I guess I am the type of mommy who wants to enjoy the 30 seconds of freezing weather to prove a point that shoes ARE important... also the type of mom who wants to enjoy the little things in life... because I know that next year when it is freezing... Syd won't be running around in her pj's in the yard. (but maybe if I am lucky Jack will be!) I guess I will have to wait and see!

Early Birthday at OSF

Daddy and his precious Sam... almost 10 year old.. (birthday on 1/21)

Celebrating Sam's birthday with Papu while he was here. After Papu's meetings we all met up at Old Spaghetti Factory ... Jack was in true form as Mr. Happy, flirting with everyone! Sam was embarrassed by practically everything... is this what life with a 10 year old will be like? :) We are THANKFUL for her though... she is a {BleSinG}

Early morning {birthday}

Tinkerbell with Papu.... giving Sam her birthday gift.
{lucky} girl got a turquoise ipod from Papu & Grandma!!
She is SO excited!! That is all that we did after school yesterday! Daddy put all her music on it and she was learning what to do... it plays videos, music, and holds pictures!

a [HUGE] thank you hug to Papu! (give one to grandma too okay?)
How BLESSED are my kids to have such wonderful grandparents?
THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!

Stanford @ Oregon... GO DUCKS!

Here are some pictures from the Stanford/Oregon game that we went to on Sunday! We are SO lucky that Dad gave us tickets to the games while they are in So Cal, although we wish he was there with us! All 7 of us went to the game and had a BLAST... especially since the Ducks pulled out a close Victory! I scared Sam I was cheering & yelling SO loud! She is not used to hearing my voice raised like that! :0) I had to smile! Sam took all the pictures of the players, duck and the cheerleaders... she is becoming quite the little photographer! Anyway, GO DUCKS! Next home game for us against UCLA next week! I think Josh & I will go together and leave the kids at home... well at least some of the kids! (we are like kids at the games!)

{M.I.A}

For those of you who regularly check my blog (I know you do!)...
Sorry I have been MIA...

My awesome {Dad} flew up for meetings in Portland, so we enjoyed his company(but missed mom)... I have been scrapbooking & loving it(shocker!) ... cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, running a taxi service, taking in a Oregon Duck game with the fam, reading, watching LOST with Josh, etc...

Tomorrow I will post pictures of these ventures... until then. :)

Flashback to December 30th

I would be remiss if I did not share this picture of the girls and one of their {favoRite} people, Lisa! On our way home from California The Dickinson's, and the Champlin's drove out to Valencia and we enjoyed dinner at Buca di Beppos together! Mmmm. What a blessing their friendship is to us! Sorry there are not more pictures, we were too busy laughing, eating, and talking! :)

Some of my favorite people! Auntie Lisa with the girls

Josh & Logan (aka "cucumber man" as dubbed by the girls! he LOVEs to eat cucumbers and the girls never forget that!) We LOVE this guy (Brett too, but no picture of him)

Celebrating {Jack's} first Birthday @ Church!

Putting in his ONE quarter...

Getting ready to BLOW... which he didn't...
BUT he almost burned is little fingers...
Such a precious little man. Thanks Ronda & Bill for the super cute outfit!

Pachelbel {Twist}

Okay, you will LOVE this! A must watch... I was laughing & smiling SO much that I had tears in the corner of my eyes! Enjoy.. a thanks to Melissa & Brad Dietrich for sharing! Make sure you mute the music playlist on my screen halfway down on the right... You have got to hear the words to this... almost as good as "I'm the Mom" in my featured links!

{2000} Minutes!

So Proud! Emma reached the 2000+ minutes for reading on Monday!
She came home sporting this COOL hat and a new kitty! Josh & I are thankful to her AMAZING teacher who has helped her fall in LOVE with books! And we're especially thankful to God for blessing us with Em! :) Next stop 3000 minutes!

Mr. Happy! :)

found this AWESOME {t-shirt} for my "Mr. Happy" at my fav store... TARGET! :)
(It was hiding amongst the Mr. Grumpy, Mr. Crabby, etc... NOT my boy... so you can imagine my EXCITEMENT when I found one Mr. Happy!)
It was a must have since this is what I call him half the time, and for those of you LUCKY enough to see Jack on a regular basis know this to be true!

In true "Mr. Happy" form!

{PrEcIous!} I just want to squeeze and kiss him when I see this face!

Comments {OOPS}

Oops! I accidentally hit a button and changed the Comments setting... Sorry for any confusion!
You can comment again if you FEEL the urge to leave me a message! Always to hear from you! Vesna wins as new commenter of the month! THANKS VESNA!

{InspiRED}

If you are feeling like you need some inspiration... pick up a copy of Deanna Farve's book "Don't Bet Against Me" Just finished it last night. Wow. A great memoir of her journey through breast cancer and life in the public eye for a small town christian girl. The book was filled with inspiration and scripture as well as insight into her life. She made a list of a NEW NORMAL after cancer... how she learned to appreciate the value of little things... her are a some. (from Deanna Farve's book)

• a quiet night
• Friends who accept you when you are at your worst
• Watching your children LIVE
• Giving to others
• A beautiful day of sunshine
• A rainy day with puddles
• Someone else making dinner

What "little" things to you appreciate and never want to take for granted?
Here are some of mine,

• a warm wood burning fire
• a comfortable warm bed
• friends who love me no matter what
• parents who care & are involved, who LOVE my kids
• a husband who treats me with love & respect & allows me to be me
• the full body laugh of a little one
• being able to run errands without depending on someone else
• freedom to worship
• being able to read & scrapbook
• HUGS from my kids
• watching my kids when they don't know it! :)
  
• Sharing & giving to others... especially when they don't know it

There are SO many things... that list doesn't really do justice to the things I am thankful for. But it makes you realize that we are all blessed indeed. Share some of yours!

Early Valentine

Got our early Valentine this weekend...YYYY
Handsome Hubby & me...
2 tickets to the Feb 15th Concert in Salem...
Tobymac, Jeremy Camp, & Matthew West
Floor Row 7... center stage!!! Yeah BABY!
Video & pix to come on Feb 16th!!! Can't wait!

{WONdER}

A {gift} this life... and no gift is better than children.
Just had to share this shot of jack peering out the french door to the backyard.
I am SO cherishing these {first} and {last} milestones as I realize how quickly this will pass.

{Thanks} Tina!!

Okay... just a note of Thanks to Tina (one of the few who comment on the blog) for creating & designing our Family Christmas card this year.! It should be in your mailboxes by the beginning of the week... and I think you will LOVE it, I know WE do! She also specializes in Baby announcements... SO... email me if you would be interested in having her design one for you...
Anyway, THANKS again friend! :) See you soon!! SUPER BOWL BABY!

Christmas Program

McKenna & her Daddy at the school Christmas Program in December... both were wise men! and believe it or not.. I made the costume! Just don't look at it too closely! :)

McKenna's friends Aspen & Sydnee
I will do a slide of the other pictures and post later.

New Year's then and NOW!

THEN: My room at Legacy Hospital with Jack in the NICU.
I slept against the window for two nights while the lovely blue lights helped speed up his recovery from severe jaundice. Jack & I brought in the New Year together here.

My precious little man... waiting for the liver to start working.

NOW: Tonight before bedtime... Happy & Healthy!
We have MUCH to be THANKFUL for!