eat sleep and farm

see that City skyline, way off in the distance? That's Seattle!  if you look closely you can see the space needle in the middle of it all.  this is the exact same time the sunset pictures were taken.  I was trying to capture two things here.  1.) this is what our water tanks look like here in Washington. Someone came and painted all of them to look "easier on the eyes" than just the plain 'ol white ones. 2.) when the sun is setting {and sometimes after it sets} this is the deep blue color sky we see until around midnight. It gradually gets darker after 9:30, but the sky retains this beautiful deep blue color and you can still see the blue, even when its dark. I love it. 

.... that some of my blog posts are quite lengthy. If you're interested in seeing a previous post on the front page, its annoying to have to scroll ALL the way down the page, or even worse, go to the previous pages {for shame}.  A couple people complained about it several months back and I looked into it, but ended up forgetting about it and then today my friend reminded me that it might be a nice feature for me to try -- thanks, Laura! So, I asked my computer genius of a husband if he could give me a hand and it turns out, blogger already has a button for it! They're way ahead of me.  So, from now on if a post is too lengthy, I will cut it off by having a "keep reading" link directly above my signature. Hopefully it will be eye catching enough for you to notice and not leave everyone wondering why I stopped my post so abruptly ;-)  Thanks for the tips - I really do appreciate them! 

Seattle This first trip we took {during my Mom's visit} was on Rachel's actual birthday. After her treasure hunt, opening presents and going out to lunch with Jason and me, we drove into the City and did some exploring; taking Nana to our favorite spots. The day was absolutely gorgeous and we had a blast! Also, everyone I've shown the top picture to, doesn't really believe I took it. I assure you, I did take it. I stood there for a good 2 minutes, prepping for that shot; making sure the City horizon was perfect, just enough clouds, etc... so I have to say I am quite proud of how it turned out ;-)

I've been wanting to write a post about hair cutting salons, or going to get a pedicure, or massage places, or the like. But, I'm short on time and never sure how my thoughts in my own head, will transfer into a post. Sometimes I think something and then LOL at my own thoughts, but I go repeat it to someone else and I can totally tell {by the "duh" blank stare on their face} that the joke didn't transfer quite well from my brain, to my mouth, to their brain. There's a big communication FAIL of some sort along the way. But yesterday, as I was sitting in the waiting room as Massage Envy {I wonder if I get a nice discount for plugging them on my blog!?} I realized I need to write about it all - funny or not. I'm not a girly girl. Never have been. I love being a woman, I love getting all prettied up for my husband and I get a kick out of finding a new style that's actually IN and being able to carry it off well and look current, for once in my life. Bu

she helped make her own birthday cake

We took my Mom to Luther Burbank Park the day after she arrived {so these pictures are coming on 3 weeks old, sorry} and had a very relaxing, fun time! I love this brick building. Every time we walk by it, I have these day dreams about the people who used to live there, back in the day . It has the most grand view of Lake Washington and I just love how its entirely made of brick.

Please proceed with caution, especially if you don't typically enjoy a little {or a lot} of sarcasm. Don't say I didn't warn you.... Yes, I know I have 3 small kids, thanks for letting me know. I can see how you think it would be easy for me to forget. Yes, I know that sometimes in the store I seem like my brain is being pulled 5 million different directions. Again, thanks for pointing that out, it might be something I'd forget. Yes, I know that to you , my life looks like I've lost my identity to my husband, kids and home. My identity is in Christ, so you have nothing to worry about. Yes, we actually DO want more children and hope these 3 aren't "it" for us. We will be thankful for these three if its all God give us though. We will soak up their childhoods and relish every moment we have with them. I do know this is a bigger gap between babies for us. Again, if you hadn't said anything, I may never have known! However, please remember

Here are some pictures of my Mom's totaled car. So now you can come visit the Arnolds AND get your car totaled. I must say, there are *some* good things that come from having a totaled car. Could be much worse. Like, we could be dead. I keep reminding myself of that. Most of the damage was done to the undercarriage and frame of the car. Because the bus was so heavy and going 30+ mph, it basically grabbed onto the car for a split second and yanked the frame, causing it to bend and buckle underneath. Its very strange to see in person, because the rest of the car looks in perfect condition.

Because I posted about this on Facebook, but didn't go into huge detail, I wanted to post it here, just to let everyone know we're OK. And no, we didn't get on the phone and call our closest friends and all our family members, so please do not be offended if this is the first you're hearing about this.  Jason and I went out for coffee this morning - left my Mom here with our kids. We took my Mom's car, since we didn't need to take a the van with just the two of us.  After our coffee date, we decided to drive home the long way and go through some nearby neighborhoods we hadn't really been in yet. I came to a stop sign and brought the car to a full, complete stop. I looked both ways {to the right the street went up a hill and kind of dropped off, so I was making sure no cars were in visible sight and to the left the street was a hill coming down}. I happened to have a blind spot with some bushes over on the left and didn't notice a metro bus coming up to

I wrote this last Saturday and realized I never posted it. Oops!  when you're running in a race, you typically have the finish line in your mind the whole time. But I would venture to guess that every so often, even during a race, your mind will wander. Maybe you run by a person who's shoes catch your eye, a bird in the sky, the far off distance, changing atmosphere and surroundings, etc.... If you're like me, then many things can and will distract you, even while running a competitive race. Tonight my mind was wandering {which was fine, since I was just driving in the car} and I began thinking over a few things. Transforming my thoughts   into   words can often times be difficult for me, so bear with me, please.  I went out for a girl's night out tonight -  moment to pause and reflect on how much fun I had with my girlfriends!  - and we had a yummy dinner, followed by some time spent chatting, followed by going to the IMAX to see the new'ish movie Inception.

We've been incredibly busy this month! Mostly on the weekends, but summertime activities have picked up during the week as well. Summertime also runs the risk of becoming my favorite time of the year, for probably the first time in my life... which is a new feeling for me. I typically dread these summer months and wait anxiously for the fall weather to set in. I'm quickly adjusting to 85-90 being the high around here :)  these pictures are all from 2 weekends ago...  Friday, we went to the beach, on Mercer Island {about 20 minutes from our house}  we didn't realize there was a beach for people swim in and play at, so we came a bit unprepared. We went for a family hike/walk along the trails and stumbled on the beach!  Saturday was our friend Parker's 3rd birthday party! Parker goes to our church and we go to his house for Community Group {Bible Study} every Tuesday night. We had a blast at his airplane themed party. The kids {and Dads} made their own paper airplanes

Erin Adams had the great idea of doing a blog party, where we write up a post about things we are thankful for, with regards to the way our parents raised us. Things that we hope to pass onto the next generation. After getting married and starting my own family, there is a lot I look back on and think "how can Jason and I strive to do even better." Not in a bragging sort of way, but just knowing that what was good in past generations ought to be better in the next. I know for sure its our 4 parent's desire - to see this generation far exceed theirs. I know its my hope for my children's future as well. So when I look back over my 30 years {23 of them spent in my parent's home} these are things I give thanks to God for - things I saw/see His hand in and hope to pass on to my kids. * having God's free gospel shared with me at a very young age. Bible stories being read, questions being answered and being encouraged to seek God's Word and apply it to my lif

4 years ago today, I was beaming with joy, with my first born daughter in my arms! Jason and I sat there in the hospital room gushing over our beautiful baby girl, Rachel Kathryn . I remember her labor with great fondness, because from first contraction to pushing her out, was a total of 5 hours. Not bad! I remember she came out kicking her right foot, furiously and screaming the loud-est scream I had ever heard a baby cry. I only had Ethan's birth to compare it to and Ethan wasn't breathing when he was born, so he came out making no sound... and when he did cry, it was the cutest sounding, tiny baby cry... and stayed that way his first year of life. So Rachel kind of terrified me when she was first born :) But she quickly calmed herself down when I brought her up to my face and kissed her chubby cheeks, greeting her for the first time. I was telling her, her birth story the other day and she said "I like my name a lot - how did you pick it?!" Her name doesn't

A man in our church wrote this several weeks back and on Sunday I saw him and asked if he minds if I post it and he said "sure! go right ahead!" So thank you, Seth... this was a blessing to me and I'm sure it will be to others. I love the church. I really do. I love the way she’s made up of such an eclectic, diverse, strange group of people who worship this crazy guy named Jesus who claimed he was God. We gather in homes and large buildings, in coffee shops and breweries, in the early morning and late at night, in the gym and around campfires—and do what? We praise and honor this Jesus. We sings songs that were written thousands of years ago by men we hope to one day meet, and we sing songs that were written last week by men and women we know by name. We raise our hands. We bow our heads. We get on our knees. We stand in awe. We call the man in the deepest jungles of Africa brother, and we call the woman in the farthest reaches of Asia sister. We will never, this side of

Summer is { finally } here in the Pacific Northwest! And with it brings lots of new and fun summertimes joys! ... Lots of swimming eating cereal for dinner sleeping in undies  running in the sprinklers  flip-flops  popsicles  sun kissed skin cheeks  driving with the windows down  sunglasses   field trips dinner at the park  evening walks  skirts & sandals  4th of July  outdoor crafts  bike rides  gasping at 95+ degrees  getting excited over 85- degrees  being outside   late sunsets  out of town visitors!  exploring  bonfires & s'moars w/neighbors  beaches & lakes  sleeping in  drive-in movies  exhaustion after all the fun in the sun !   Welcome, summer weather! We're glad you finally decided to arrive :-) 

We had an amazing 4th of July weekend, followed by Jason's 3 days off work! It was fabulous having him home with us for 3 full days. Since Jason already has Mondays off, he got Tuesday off as well, for the 4th. We spent Monday here at home, just re-couping from the busy weekend, cleaning up around the house, doing yard work and then drove to our friend's house to pick up a mattress and ended up staying the rest of the night with them. I love having good friends, who feel more like family and we can actually DO things like that with. We ventured out to Ballard on Tuesday, for a fun day at the Marina! Ballard is just above Seattle and has a very similar feel as Berekley, CA (for those of you who know what Berekely looks like). Jason described it well, when he said it looks like a College town. Very cute, quaint and out of the way. Jason had the idea to take us to the Locks, where you get to watch the boats come in and out and see the fish swimming upstream. I had never heard of