eat sleep and farm

We liked this one a lot (and the lighting didn't bother us) but our photographer was quite bothered by how bright J's face was, so we decided against using her least favorite. :)

Our friend Brooke Sauder took our Christmas photo this year and here are a couple shots she took of the kids. Enjoy the preview :)

I had a feeling my title would catch your eye (hopefully not offending you!) My friend Jen Dulkevich introduced me to these nursing covers. She absolutely loves it! I was amazed when I saw her using it because it looks so convenient and easy. She can nurse where ever she is and doesn't have to worry about modesty or deal with a fussy baby because Mom is worried and stressed while nursing. They come in lots of different patterns and there is wire around the neckline, so you can look down at your baby, while nursing, without moving the cover! Its all quite lovely and its exciting how many of these new inventions are popping out all over the place. Here is the link -- http://www.bebeaulait.com/?gclid=CKLOosCt_I8CFRyiiQod1wotFg

I've heard the saying "Girls are much easier than boys!" all too often. These past several weeks Rachel has proved that saying wrong. She is far more into things and mess making than Ethan ever was, at this age. :) He was much more inclined to sit with a book, play with some cars, bounce a ball, etc... She, on the other hand, is into reorganizing things, taking ALL the books off the shelf, dumping things out of bags, etc... she keeps me on my toes way more than he did. But, her personality (so far) is easier to deal with than his. Ha! There's trade offs at every corner. :) Anyway, this morning I was using the bathroom (the one thing I do alone) and I heard the pantry door open and panicked because I realized I had forgotten to lock it. I hurried up and ran out of the bathroom just in time to find my daughter in a huge pile of popcorn all over the kitchen floor. My first reaction was to flip out, but all I could hear was Rachel saying "Mommy! Corn!" she was ...

We love food in this house and I'm always on the look-out for healthy options for our kids.  I don't give our kids anything with High fructose Corn Syrup, we stay away from MSG (since I'm allergic) and also keep our distance from partially hydrogenated oils and more lovely ingredients of the like.  **by way of a disclaimer ... this is not a post teaching or telling you how to feed your kids. Its how WE feed our kids and I do not expect everyone to think its right or want to copy us.  With that said, I have some yummy food "plugs" for you moms out there.  I think the following things all came from Trader Joe's, which is a great place to shop if you're tying to go organic. Although I'm starting to see organic options popping up everywhere! Yay.  1.) Multigrain Baking and Pancake mix is amazing stuff! It comes in the box, but has all the ingredients of a homemade mix, with nothing yucky added. Our kids love when I make pancakes out of it, especially wh...

One holiday ends while the other gets started. Don't you love this time of year? We're totally enjoying it this year, especially with our kids. This is our 4th Christmas together and its fun to have very established traditions and now able to share them with the kids. Ethan remembers that we drive to look at lights on Christmas Eve, decorating gingerbread houses, decorating the house and tree and all the fun movies to watch. His new favorite for this year is the snow globes. He adores them. I think Rachel has an equal fascination with them. :) This morning we had breakfast out and then went to buy some decorations and a tree! We got home and set the tree up and now Jase and Ethan are hanging lights on the house. Surprisingly enough, Ethan is actually a pretty good help to Daddy. Its pretty cute to watch and I've been snapping pictures as I get the chance. We're gearing up for a fun month! Not terribly busy, thankfully. We have some events going on at church here and th...

Have you ever rented one of your childhood favorites, watched it and then wondered why on earth you liked it?! I did that tonight. When I was younger (maybe age 12-20) I had such a weird fascination with Alfred Hitchcock's movie Vertigo. I noticed it was going to be on TV last week, so I asked Jase to DVR it for me. He's working late tonight and the kids are watching Ice Age, so I snuck in my room to watch it. Sad thing is, I still find it very interesting! Movies with very little talking, but that still manage capture my attention seem to thrill me; Cast Away comes to mind. That movie is a masterpiece and half of it has NO talking! Anyway, I finished Vertigo and half of me wondered what's wrong with me and the other half just thinks I'm really deep. Haha. :) Do tell... what are some childhood faves that you used to like and no longer do or ones you still hold quite dear. I have those few that I'll never let go of; Anne of Green Gables, Sound of Music, Star Wars 4,5...

I think at our house it should be called accident training. I'm not having success this week with Ethan. This morning he peed on the floor. After we cleaned it and had that LONG talk about where the potty goes, I decided he fully understood and would not do it again. He then pooped in his pants in the playroom. So, I cleaned him up, put him on the potty and we had another LONG talk about where poo-poo goes. I went to change R's diaper while E was sitting on the potty and then I smelled something weird coming out of the bathroom. I jumped up and ran in there in time to find all the roll of toilet paper on the floor (in shreds) and the can of Febreeze completely sprayed all over his body, the bathroom and the shower curtain. When I asked him what on earth he was doing, he said "My poo-poo is stinky, so I needed this good smell in here." Yeah.

I'm starting to realize (and yes, it took me a while) that any blog post that is controversial (in the least) gets quite a few readers bothered, agitated and even brings website lurkers out from the wood works to leave comments! Its amazing how many people are looking for a fight. So... I had to post this title, just to see what happens. I imagine very little will since I'm sort of asking for it. :) And, in all honesty, this was just meant to be funny and nothing else. Goes along the same lines as the saying "bad news travels quicker than good news." Its so true! Post something fun and random and you get maybe a couple comments. Post something controversial and half the world weighs in. I'm also realizing the word "controversy" is taking on new meaning. Apparently stating your opinion about something is grounds for everyone else to put you in your place. Even after you've (often times) been asked to give it in the first place! Amazing.... Have a goo...

I had great fun at the retreat this past weekend! I really enjoyed our guest speaker, Judy Achillies and appreciated her series of lessons she gave. I think all the women felt like it was just what they needed to hear. So wonderful how God works that way! I had a great time getting to know the 2 girls that I drove down with, shared a room with and drove back with. We had too much fun and especially enjoyed stopping off in Capitola on the way down and eating at our favorite spot, Margaritaville. Its right on the water and just oh, so yummy food! Saturday was a very fun filled day. We had our session of teaching in the morning, after breakfast and then several of us girls did the "ropes course" which was a total thrill. It took guts for all of us and we were quite proud of ourselves when we all made it through the course and NONE of us fell!! I'm afraid of heights and so for me, it was huge to conquer that fear. Huge. After that we enjoyed going down the BIG slide. Its a wa...

Comes into the kitchen with the broom... he starts sweeping the floor and we have the following conversation. "Mommy, Rachel made a mess and I need to clean it up." "Oh wow! Thanks Ethan. Are you being a big helper to Mommy?" "Yes and then I will spank Rachel for making such a big mess." "No Ethan... Rachel doesn't get spanks for making a mess at the table. And, YOU may never spank her." "Okay, but... I'm going to clean this and then I will be tired, so I will go take a nap." "Sounds good." "Actually, I will not take a nap, I will watch a movie and eat pocorn" "Nope, you're actually going to take a nap now... you and Rachel." "Hmmm... Mommy, lets talk about it some more. Do YOU want to take my nap for me?" "No thanks." "Okay, I forgive you Mommy." :-)

Pretty self explanatory, but I often have people that ask, so here you go. 1 & 2.) Rachel at 4 months old 3.) Lizzy Combs with Rachel 4.) Ethan and Jackson Kemper 5.) Ethan @ the pumpkin patch

I keep meaning to post about this and keep forgetting, so since I have some time... Rachel went on the big girl potty last weekend! It was very exciting. I have no idea if it will lead into anything more, but we're so proud of her. She's been watching Ethan go, with a lot of curiosity. On Saturday she was pulling at her pants and trying to climb up on the potty, so I went in the garage and brought in the little potty chair and she (very proudly) sat right down and went pee-pee! I can't tell you how excited Ethan was for her. He cheered and screamed and kissed and hugged, gave up his stickers and even gave her his Lightening McQueen car to play with. It was quite the celebration. ;)

I have been doing a work-out DVD for several weeks now and I usually do it first thing in the morning or later in the afternoon, if I'm busy in the morning. Either way, the kids are usually up with me and will often sit and watch, cheering me on. I just walked into the family room and saw the cutest thing ever! Rachel is laying on the floor, in front of the movie that's on, doing the same moves I do in my work out! She's lifting her leg, then lowering it back down (breathing very exaggerated the whole time) and then standing up and raising her arms and punching the air. Its quite a funny sight. I wish I could share it with you in pictures, but our dumb photo uploader isn't working... still. Just had to share the story. Its making me laugh so hard. She's very intently working out. :) I like to write these things down here as well, to remember later on to write it in her journal.

Well, my friends... I knew this post would be coming, but didn't want it to be so soon or expect it to be so hard. My friend Sara's little daughter Audrey Maria has passed away this morning. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for their family. The Lord is so gracious and does all things well -- I'm resting in that I know the Wood family is as well. All I keep thinking is, if the news has been this hard for me, I cannot imagine what her parents and siblings are going through. So please keep praying for them... they need them now more than ever. Thanks again, Stef

I have nothing new to post, but I can't stand letting so much time go by without posting... so hi. I wanted to post some vacation pictures, but we're still having issues with our laptop/camera hook-up. :( We've had such a slow week, but its been nice. Especially since Jase has been up late working and I stay up with him. By the time we get to bed its 1am (or later) and then the kids have been getting up around 6:30am, so I'm not getting much sleep. As many of you know... I like my sleep! Rachel is teething badly (and hopefully this is it until her 2 year molars come in). Yesterday she came down with a yucky head cold... so we've canceled all our plans and have just been hanging around the house, playing a lot outside and going for walks. I love this weather. Its so clear and beautiful. I couldn't believe this morning they were playing some Christmas carols on the radio! Halloween just ended and we're already doing Christmas? Hmmmm... what happened to Thank...