Merry Christmas!

We squeezed in a quick, last minute trip to the the Botanical Gardens and Snowflake Lane last night. Um, just kidding about the Gardens....the place was so packed we couldn't find a parking spot. That's what we get for waiting to go until the week of Christmas :( We made it to Snowflake Lane along with the rest of Seattle. It was wall to wall people, but the claustrophobia was worth it seeing Jack and Lindsey's faces. Drummers, snow, music- a perfect way to ring in Christmas.

How would you like this buff boy under your tree? He's still available on Amazon.




No pictures of my mom. She tried to make a "quick" trip to Crate and Barrel and that's the last we saw of her for the evening.

Erin and Spencer caught an earlier flight from Boise, so they had to chill at the airport for over an hour until we could pick them up after the show. We're pretty excited they are here though!!

And the Sunday pictures.....

Ooh, I love Christmas dresses. Doesn't she look positively delicious?

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!!

Run, Run Rudolph

Last weekend Clint, my dad and I donned our bullet proof vests and skull caps to run in the Christmas Rush 10K in Kent. The weather cooperated and we ran in a balmy 32 degrees (earlier in the week the temperatures had been in the teens and twenties and I had been forced to run my long run inside on the treadmill). We started in the very front, which was a mistake because everyone passed me in the first bit and I felt like I was the slowest one in the race!I kept a steady pace, a bit slower than my dad, but Clint was a trooper and ran with me even though he could have gone a lot faster! Towards the end, Clint was obviously anxious to run on ahead, so I gave him the go ahead and he took off like a rabbit. That boy was born to run! We finished chilly, but happy with our times. I actually ran a lot faster than I thought I would, so I was pleased. My dad got 3rd in his age group, Clint got 6th (thanks to my slower pace!!) and I got 2nd (okay, that sounds really great, but there were only 16 in my age group!!).

We have obviously bred runners. I heard giggling downstairs yesterday (usually a very bad thing at our house!) and found my two little runners charging across the family room and jumping in the "pool". Of course, their clothing of choice was minimal.

And of course, we ran into Santa at my mom's ward Christmas party.

No fear here. Lindsey snuggled into Santa for a long winter's nap.

Jack schmoozing Santa for a mini skateboard set.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....

We began our Christmas festivities last weekend with:

a trip to the tree farm to pick out a tree

We didn't have to look long- we loved the first one we saw! A cute little 6 footer to fit nicely in the corner of our living room.

Do you love the puff daddy coats as much as our kids? Luckily, they love to wear them (as they are not normally coat-wearers). Can you just picture them strapped into their carseats wearing those things?!? It's hilarious.

Taking advantage of photo ops in front of the gingerbread house at the farm.

We headed downtown later that evening to check out the gingerbread houses at the Sheraton and the Christmas trees at the Fairmont. It was a chilly night, but we still had a lot of fun.

Santa checking his list for the Karren kids.

Checking out the trains in Macy's window.

Gearing up with Grandpa and Grandma to to see the Clam Lights at Coulon.

What's up this week?
getting over our first bout of pink eye
crashing 2 Christmas parties (our parents')
making and eating lots of Christmas goodies
What's on YOUR list?

Happy Thanksgiving!

The baking/cooking is done and I have 2. 5 minutes of down time before we are off to my sister-in-law's for dinner. I made yummy mashed potatoes with plenty of cream cheese and sour cream, roasted squash and apples, sweet potato rolls, cranberry apple relish, a veggie platter and a cream cheese dip. It was a fun morning in the kitchen!

We had a pie night earlier this week with some friends. Since I am always so stuffed on Thanksgiving to really enjoy dessert, I thought it would be fun to have friends bring their favorite pies and sample them all. It was my first time making a pie on my own, but it turned out a lot better than I thought it would (the crust especially).We had a berry (mine), pecan, banana cream and chocolateRice Krispy with Reeses Pieces pie. It was a very yummy night. :)

And of course, we have kept busy making Thanksgiving crafts and Thankful lists.

I am so thankful for these two crazy kids. My life would be a whole lot more calm and organzied without them, but I would also be bored, lonely, and have my hearing.

I am so thankful for a hardworking husband who still thinks I'm beautiful despite the fact I have food all over my clothing, chocolate on my face, and stress lines around my eyes.

I am thankful for a free country, a warm home, 2 cars that continue to work, a job that lets me stay home with my kids every day, family in the area, friends who listen and watch my kids, and a body that keeps up with my kiddos.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Now, let the Christmas chaos begin!!

Transitions

Lindsey has made some big transitions in the last few weeks. Since she is rapidly approaching age 3, we decided it was time to move her out of the crib. As we were looking around for a toddler bed, she lost her binky one day during nap time. We searched the room high and low and never found the thing. She did okay without it- a little fussing, and a decision not to nap anymore :(. We set up the bed last weekend while she was staying at Clint's parents' house so she returned to a real "big girl" bed. We also found the binky- hidden deep inside a box in the closet. (?) She loves her new bed (and so does everyone else). Now, if we could only get rid of the 2 am wake up call every morning ("I have to go tinkle!"Yes, we really use that word at our house. For some reason I hate the word "pee") Her tiny bladder can only hold it in for 6 hours at a time. Any ideas?!?

And just for a chuckle... scuba steve. You can't really see it, but he's wearing a backpack for an air tank. The imagination of this kid never ceases to amaze me.

"Do you have a doggy?"

A weekend of Halloween activities began with Clint's office Halloween party. The kids trick or treated at about 2 desks (whoopee!!now, come on people....)and munched on some cupcakes. I brought some super cute treats (sorry, no pic) and no one touched them. Next year, I am NOT slaving in the kitchen all morning-I'm bringing cupcakes.

A little pumpkin carving.....

A playgroup party: pin the nose on the pumpkin, dancing with scarves, beanbag toss, cookie-decorating, and plenty of goodies.


Halloween dinner at Grammy and Papa's

The Karren posse getting ready to saddle up

Highlights of trick or treating:
Jack- (after 5 houses) "Can we go back to Grammy's now?"
Lindsey- "No, just one more house, okay?"
Jack -"Trick or treat."
Lindsey- "Do you have a doggy?" after hearing a dog bark inside every house. She then insisted on seeing the doggy, petting the doggy, and taking at least 5 pieces of candy from the bowl extended to her. The girl knows how to work it.

Down on the pumpkin farm

Not much new around here.... We did the annual pumpkin patch outing last weekend before the rains began.

Just wait folks..there is more of this to come since J & L will be appearing as cowboy and cowgirl in a few short weeks.

Jack loves tractors. He probably spent half an hour sitting on this thing pretending he was driving. Meanwhile Lindsey was checking out the "peter potty". Yes, it took us a few minutes to figure that one out.

A Night of Not-so-Fun Firsts

Three weeks ago I found out that I was carrying a non-viable fetus at my 10 week check-up. I decided to wait and let my body rid itself of the fetus rather than having a D&C right away. Ummm, wrong choice. For three weeks, I still felt and looked pregnant and wondered if every cramp meant the miscarriage was starting. Last night the real show began....

I was crampy and spotty all day, but didn't think much of it. I really wasn't thinking it was going to be a huge deal- a heavy period- I had been told. After Clint left for a church meeting, the pain and bleeding took a turn for the worst. He came home quickly and put the kids to bed while I talked to the on-call ob on the phone. He prescribed a med for me to take that would help speed the process along. Clint hopped in the car to pick up the prescription. Meanwhile, while talking to my mom on the phone, I started to feel really dizzy and felt like I was going to faint. I did not think this was such a good thing since I had lost so much blood. I called 911 since I was all alone and crawled down the stairs to unlock the front door to let them in. Clint, our neighbor and the firemen showed up at the same time and suggested I get to the hospital. My dad showed up to stay with the sleeping kids and my mom came with us to the hospital. Thank goodness for having family so close.

Luckily, it is only a 5 minute drive so we took our own car instead of having the drama of riding in an aid car. They got me in quickly and got me as comfortable as they could. I felt like I was birthing another child without an epidural. The ob (who I had talked to earlier on the phone- the one that said 9 out of 10 women can do this on their own at home :)) took one look at me and said we were going to the OR for a D&C. I lost a lot of blood , but they didn't have to do a transfusion. After a quick surgery and a much longer recovery, we finally headed home at 3 am.

I am feeling much better today- just really tired from lack of sleep. Clint stayed home and helped with the kids since I wasn't supposed to drive anywhere today.

I am just happy to have the whole ordeal over. It was difficult to have the emotional grieving happen first, then the anticipation of the physical pain, and then the actual physical pain. Luckily, I had the support of many friends and family members.

When I woke up from anesthesia, I was crying and telling the nurse how blessed I was. She probably thought I was crazy :). But, I do feel very blessed- I have family and good friends in the area to help with our kids, the hospital wasn't busy so everything moved quickly, the nurses and doctors were all very kind and capable, and I honestly felt the Lord's hand through this entire experience.

It was definitely a night of firsts though:

First miscarriage

First call to 911

First firetruck in front of our house (thankfully they didn't drive up with the lights and sirens)

First trip to the ER

First anesthesia

First surgery

First time losing 5 lbs in one night

However, I am hoping that these are firsts and lasts (except for the losing 5 lbs one- I didn't mind that one :))!

Sorry, no pictures to document the experience. I was thinking this morning how thrilled Jack would have been to see the firetruck in front of our house, seeing me rolled around in a huge bed with wheels all over the hospital, being loopy after waking up from surgery, etc.

The much happier patient today.

I'm feeling Wicked.....

So we finally got to see Wicked last weekend! I had heard so many good things about it and we were thrilled it was in Seattle. We went with my in-laws and sister-in-law and brother-in-law and their family. We had a fabulous time. I have been listening to the soundtrack non-stop ever since Friday night. :) I just wish I had had time to see it again before it left town.

It was a nice date night with my frequently absent spouse . Between work, a crazy busy calling, an unexpected speedbump, and keeping the kids happy and healthy, we have barely had time to communicate with one another recently.







On the home front, I was tired of our old bedroom decor (we've enjoyed it for 7 years), so I decided to revamp it a bit on a limited budget.

The old donated set. (To clarify, I did not trade the 2 children in for a new version.)

Oh, if they really slept that peacefully. Especially the one on the right :)

The new decor.... When we start pulling in the big bucks, maybe we can finally replace our lovely plastic bedside tables. But for now, I am pleased with the results.

First week of school

Jack started preschool this week! He attends a special education preschool at a local elementary school as a "peer model". He attends 4 days a week for 2 1/2 hours in the morning. It's been a bit of an adjustment for us as we did our own thing last year, and we now have to be out of the house by 9 am every morning. He loves it though and it's been nice (?) to spend some one on one time with the second child.



The second child now has mom's undivided attention every morning.:)


We have still been enjoying some beautiful weather this week. Every chance we get, we head outside to soak up some rays. I seriously think I am living in the wrong climate- I love the sun too much to live in Seattle. :) Friday, we headed to the ocean (well, puget sound) to play in the sand and breathe in some healing ocean air.