Priest Lake with the Sawyers

What a great weekend! Thanks to the Holling family who let us enjoy their lakefront property and boat!

We spent the weekend with Grandpa and Grandma Sawyer, Aunt Julie and Uncle Rob, and Aunt Suz and Uncle Jake. (Missed you Uncle Mark and Aunt Brittany! We'll have to go again with YOU!)

Playing in the sand, eating smores, horseshoes, water skiing, fishing (including Sadie's first fish)... what could be better! We're up for another trip there anytime.

Doth mine eyes deceive me?

Uhhh... saw these signs on the front of the Palouse Empire "Mall" in MOSCOW, ID... really? We're getting real stores to shop at??? Seriously?!?

Those of us who live here are giddy with excitement... and only those of you who have lived in the Moscow/Pullman area would understand. :) Here, it's news to write home about!

Now I've got another good reason for you to come visit us-- we can go shopping!

Anyone Recognize this Boy???

I don't. Well, at least not in this state of being... peaceful, quiet, still...

His face is familiar-- he's often identified as a "mini-me" of his daddy. Also resembles me a bit... mostly at times like this when he's peaceful, quiet and still... (heh, heh, heh)

19 months old is a BUSY age. And he's a boy. Those of you who have experienced this know. (Or, if you're my friend Becky you know 3 identical times over!!! How DO you do it????) And those who haven't experienced it, but may someday... fair warning! You laugh a lot, but get exasperated a lot too. Just in the last 24 hours, Grant has:

• pulled a full coffee cup from the counter onto the carpet and his shoes
• explored the science of floating objects in the toilet (from pinecones to plastic food)
• pushed his toy lawnmower across the street (unsupervised)
• applied chapstick to his forehead and partially eaten the remaining portion
• turned living room furniture upside down and arranged on a different side of the room
• driven his hot wheels bike through three rooms of the house (including navigating stairs) and crash landed in the living room
• dumped sand over his and his sisters' heads
• while naked preparing for the bath (after the sand incident) I heard his sister yell "Who pooped on the carpet?!?"
• precariously tipped a framed photo on the wall
• dumped a bowl of mandarin oranges on the floor and fingerpainted with the juice
• pushed his lawnmower across the street (unsupervised) AGAIN
• thrown laundry over the banister
• turned all electric viewing devices on.. and off... and on... and off... then on again

You get the gist. And I'm not complaining--I love being a mom. I never know what's coming next! I don't recognize him sleeping because when he's asleep, SO AM I!!! I crash... as hard as he does.

I did find a video that more accurately depicts my son's personality:

After my restful night (he sleeps WELL), I awoke this morning to my 4 year old Allison yelling... "MAAAAWMMMM!!! Grant is in TRUUUUBULLLL!" In my half asleep state I have enough sanity to know the potential disaster behind the situation... "What is it, Allison?" I frantically reply.

She shakes her head..."This time it's REALLY bad."

Good morning, mom..... and we're off!!!

Mothers Day

We had a nice Mothers Day... my mom wanted to use my children to plant her garden (anyone up on the most recent child labor laws???). As you can see in the pictures, the kids love it. They each have green thumbs and a little "farmer" at heart. (ummm... except me... what happened???)

Entertainment by Grant--"The Stripper"

I'm sure that if you're a parent you have laughed as you watch your child try to get a tight shirt over their head and the way it contorts their face... I finally caught it on video so in later years I can look back and laugh...

This one has me laughing till I cry already! Hope you enjoy it too. Simple things!

New Preschool! Praise God!

Great news! Our church voted today to implement a new faith-based preschool in our church. What a great ministry for our community.

I've been involved in the planning and promotion-- came up with the name and logo and am now on to PR, website, etc. It's so fun to be using my skills in christian service.

So, if you know any 3-5 year old kids who would like to attend an evangelical christian preschool in Pullman, give me a shout!

Visit to St. Gertrudes

This may take a REALLY long time to load for you... 15 min. or so. You can also try it at this URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RjJpcd-CZo

I love technology!!!

Isn't technology great? I found a new way to share photos and video for free with Smilebox. Look below, and, just like it says... click to play! I could spend hours and hours playing with photos, video, etc. LOVE it! Enjoy.

Make your own Click to play

Mom and Kids Getaway

What a great weekend! Roadtrips to go visit family and friends are always great... even when you're on the road with young kids. Many miles were travelled, but it was all very worthwhile to get the chance to see my sister and brother in law, Dwayne's family (all gazillion of them at a Lenssen wedding) and several of my old Lynden friends. Conversations were short (I'd constantly be running off to find my 18 mo. old tasmanian devil) but just really nice... I got to re-connect with lots of people I hadn't seen in a long time.

The kids LOVED frolicking on a sandy beach at the Kingston Ferry Dock, and had gads of fun catching up with lots of playtime with cousins.

Lastly, it was great to visit our old church and see it bursting at the seams during the Easter services. And joyfully, we hear from dad that our home church was also over full! Praise God that we can freely worship Him in local churches and celebrate the ressurection. He is risen!

Can't Wait for Spring...

Happy Holy Week! We're really looking forward to spring time to arrive. Days are longer, but seem to be going faster. The kids keep the minutes racing by.

Princess Allison turned 4 in March, and loved the princess gatherings with friends and family. Sadie is glad the snow is turning to mud... she LOVES to play in anything messy outside. And our boy Grant is loving his sand box-- I imagine many spring and summer hours will be spent right there. Simple pleasures!

We're looking forward to seeing family in Lynden for Easter, and we'll check back in here at our blog after the holiday.

(Funny note: our friend Shelle was in the greeting card isle at WalMart this week looking at Easter cards... two young gals were there shopping for Easter cards too. Shelle couldn't help overhearing their clueless comment: "Why are so many of these religious cards?" Oi! For anyone who doesn't know it... Easter is ALL about "religion"... Christ died for our sins and rose again on Easter day! Really has nothing to do with bunnies.)

Winter Wonderland

Well, if you're going to have sub-freezing temperatures, it's always best to have a white blanket of snow with the cold to make it pretty, right? We've had lots of cold temperatures this winter, and thankfully have had snow to go with it. Here's a pic of my mom, the girls and I sledding yesterday. We've also had some good cuddle time on the couch (currently in the middle of reading Charlotte's Web) for as long as I can convince my children to remain in my arms. They're growing up already... Wintery snowy joy to you all!

Go Cougs!

How about those Cougs?

We got to take in a second basketball game this season-- and have chosen the most exciting ones to attend! We got to see them defeat Gonzaga, and this last weekend we were there when they beat Arizona. The kids had so much fun... even after overtime and therefore past bedtime. Go Cougs!

(And for those concerned fellow Vandal Alums of mine... just know I generally wear Vandal gear underneath any Coug garment that happens to be on me so the most important team is closest to my heart! :)

My brother got married!

Well, it happened. The last of the 4 Sawyer siblings got hitched! We are so happy to welcome "already-adopted" Aunt Brittany into the fam. It was a great wedding celebration with lots of fun memories-- Flower girl Allison grinning with mom (after a period of not wanting her photo taken... arrgh...), the happy bride and groom, the Lenssens at the church, Sadie cuttin' a rug at the reception (jammies were easier to dance in than the flowergirl dress), and Angela with her sisters Julie and Suzanne (Ang and Julie were guestbook attendants, Suz was a bridesmaid). For more great photos of the wedding, follow the link on my page to Mark and Brit's blog. What a great celebration!

Blessed Holidays

What a nice holiday season! We got to spend a lot of quality time with our parents and siblings' families laughing, playing games, playing with kids, eating too much, remembering the past, and especially remembering the birth of Christ.

Enjoy the photos of Grant and his new Tonka truck, the entire Sawyer clan, Dwayne and his mom reading an emotional "remembrance" poem of his Dad, Allison posing with an ornament, Angela with Lyndsey and Shelle, and Sadie making lemonade on Christmas day.

Now we look forward to the year 2007 and what it may bring!

Christmas is Coming!

As we look back over the year of 2006, we think of many BLESSINGS.

Three happy, healthy, children bouncing around our big busy home in Pullman. What BLESSINGS.

Dwayne's job being stable and relationships with his "clients" growing... and my ability to still be at home full time. We're BLESSED.

The last visits we had with grandparents Martin and Lurline Jensen, and Dad Byron Lenssen. Before they went on to heaven we were BLESSED to spend some really good times with them this year on Easter and Labor Day Weekend.

BLESSED are the memories we made with family and friends this year. Many of these memories were caught on film... and we're so glad to have shared part of those via our blog this year! Keep visiting to see what we're up to in the future.

Blessings to you this CHRISTmas season. Happy Birthday to Jesus!

The Lenssens

(Photo notes: Allison decorating the annual gingerbread house... FUN! Grant and Dad "tree hunting", The three kids in the foot-deep snow while picking out our christmas tree (sadly, the snow is all gone now), and Sadie busy at two different Kids Choir performances-- one at the Downtown Pullman Tree Lighting, and one of her solo at her christmas program "Operation Christmas Child" at our church. )

October in Pullman

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." Ecc. 3:1

What an October! So many changes, and not just the color of the leaves.

We got to spend Labor Day weekend with most of Dwayne's family at Ross Point Baptist Camp and Silverwood. What a fun weekend of time together making memories! And a blessing to have a last visit with Dwayne's dad, Byron. He passed away on Oct. 9 after battling cancer for a year and a half. We know he's in heaven and much better off, but we miss him so much already.

Both Sadie and Grant had birthdays this month... my kids are growing up!!! They've all been so sweet and cute in such different ways. I hope you enjoy the photos of them as they grow. Grant and Allison are playing "drums" with my pots and pans in the kitchen, Sadie is showing off her first tooth lost, and Sadie took a picture of me and my sisters Julie and Suzanne at Riverfront Park recently. And, like most one year olds, Grant really enjoyed his chocolate cake!

So, our experiences this month just call us to remind you all that life is short... enjoy the people in your life while you can and at every milestone you pass. People are precious. Blessings!

WOW! Summer is over...

We last left you with great anticipation for Aunt Suz and Uncle Jake's wedding on July 1-- what a fun family event! A blessed day! We just don't have many photos in digital format, so here's just one to give you an idea. If you're interested, I'll let you know what Suzanne's blog is so you can see more details.

After the "let down" of the wedding, we moved on to other summer activities. We had our house painted (No more peachy-beige!), went swimming a lot, went to/volunteered at Vacation Bible School, frequented our parks, visited family and friends in Lynden for the NW Washington Fair, "helped" my family with wheat harvest (Grant's first ride on the combine-- he was all grins), Angela worked for a month at Cartridge World in outside sales to help out friends who just opened the business, and geared back up for the start of school... KINDERGARTEN FOR SADIE! She's been at Sunnyside Elementary each morning for a week and a half now, and really enjoys her time in Mrs. Emerson's class there. So far, recess is her favorite. Imagine that.

Hope you all had as eventful and joyful a summer as we had! Keep in touch. I like to receive photos just as much as I like to send them!

Return again soon to hear about our Labor Day weekend vacation with Dwayne's family. It was a great time. I'm just waiting for my "old school" 35mm photos to be developed and put on disk so I can update the blog again... talk to you soon!