From our Family to Yours...Merry Christmas!

Our family is celebrating the greatest Birth in Earth's History.............

The Announcement delivered by Angels proclaiming the Birth of Jesus.......the Messiah, the Lord

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

From our family to yours..........
Merry Christmas!!

 

Luke 2

New International Version (NIV)

The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
²¹ On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

Thank you for this picture Treva

 

A Little of Him....A Little of Me

Matt and I were able to spend a couple of nights away this week- All summer long I go camping with my boys..........during the winter Matt will take at least one trip (sometimes two) to the city (about a 4 hour drive away- or 45 minute flight:) ) with me.
The city is not my man's ideal way to spend a vaca BUT staying 6 weekends out of 13 this past summer in a travel trailer is not my ideal way to spend a vaca either- Somewhere along the 20 years of being together we have found our Medium.

Give and Take.................
A little of him a little of me......

Thank you babe for taking me to Cabela's- for the laugh we had while there when we walked behind the silent farter (only to both grab our noses and struggle for air as we were laughing so hard we could hardly walk straight)
Thank you for holding my bags as we went from store to store
Thanks for watching 2 Halmark movies in a row as we sat on our bed eating pizza smothered in ranch
Thank you for the great talks about 'life' as we drove
Thank you that you have not allowed our marriage to be all you or all me-

I love you Matthew Benjamin and thank you so much for stepping out of your comfort zone into mine.  Thank you also for including me into your comfort zone- For the times you have insisted I 'join in' instead of sitting curb side..........

Your my heart babe
deep down my heart
and I am so grateful for you

p.s. I took the camera out once on our trip- I jokingly took a picture of Matt waiting for me as I was trying on clothes- He grabbed the camera and took a pic of me in return- The camera never came out again

'Don't Duck..'

Thank you for this picture Alliance Defending Freedom

 

 

 

Right Now......Camo or Coach

4 Things going on right now

• I am watching a show called 'Nitro Circus' with my boys right now.....While I am cringing every time someone crashes on their bikes my boys are cracking up thinking it's awesome
• My house has a faint tinge of cow poop smell right now- Boots were not washed off before walking into the mud room- BOYS!!!
• Going back to the Nitro Circus I am watching right now, what kind of life did Travis Pastrana have growing up to make him such a dare devil adrenaline junkie?  His poor mother was probably beside herself....or his mom was like my friends Bonnie and Val- They would be cheering their boys on when they did all the crazy stunts
• Right now, on my Ryan's back, he has a camo Band-Aid covering a cut- Camo's a big deal in our house- Camo Clothes, hats, jackets, Bog Boots, under-wear, blankets, you name it we've got it in camo...........my boys love them some camo p.s. I don't prefer owning camo- If it's starting with a C I'll go with Coach :)

Hope you all have had a great Tues..



Well Would you look at that- Coach has camo!!

两个半 & A Prayer Request

TWO AND A HALF!!
2.5
2 1/2
两个半 (Mandarin for 2.5)
dos años y medio (Spanish)
deux ans et demi (French)
tweeënhalf (Dutch)

The day after tomorrow Ellie will be two and a half....
Two has been equivalent to a sweet/sour sauce- One minute Elle's is as sweet as can be and in the next breath she has thrown a fit that will floor you!

She is really developing the likes/dislikes of her personality:
'I NOT like that' is one of the most common phrases she says
She loves to watch the Disney Movie Nemo, color, go to her 'class' (Sunday School) at church, & eat bean burritos.

She thrives in routine:
'I go to nana's (my mom's) on Turs-day' (Thursday)
She always wears her Hello Kitty goggles when sitting in the bath tub (and despises washing and combing her hair)

28 pounds
33 inch tall
18-24 months clothes
size 6 shoe
She gives some of the best squishy hugs a mommy could ask for and melts our families heart every second of every minute of every day

Happy two and a half to you Ellie Marie
I LOVE YOU!!

p.s. Please join me in praying for a local mom of 4 (April) who was in a car accident this morning- She was driving on our icy roads (we've had snow and ice for over a week) and hit a tree.  Praising the Lord that her 2 daughters (that were in the car at the time) were not hurt.  As I 'post' this April just headed into surgery to repair a broken Femur and some other injuries.
God Bless and Keep you April- It was some precious moments spending time with your girls this morning- it was also neat to see how much they adore 'Miss Becca'.  Praying for you friend

35 Years!!

In a nation that has news sources contending whether our divorce rate is 53% or 67% AND living in a valley that has gained national attention as being 4th in the nation for the highest divorce rate, it seems important to recognize marriages that are in the minority.........
Our Pastor Pete and his wife Kathy are quietly celebrating 35 years of marriage today (Pastor Pete wouldn't shout it from the pulpit today because he said it was self promotion.......Nope- It's encouragement..........it's life breathing words that it's possible in our divorce driven society to stay married, it's living testimony!!)

Thank you Pastor Pete and Kathy for living your marriage out loud for your church congregation and for our community to see
Thank you for choosing to let the Lord lead both of your lives as you minister and encourage others
Thank you for honoring each other both in public and private
Thank you for letting us see God's love in and through your marriage...........

From all of us at CBC....
HAPPY 35th ANNIVERSARY!
We Love you!!

Moooing & Moo-ving

This post is a couple months old (9/30/13) and was written the night before we moved to the ranch we live on now- It has been tucked away in my blog drafts- Just read it over and thought I would publish :)

I have a million different ideas running through my brain to share some fairly big news but my brain is so tired the only thing I can communicate from my brain to this blog post is this....
I posted a little over a month ago that we put our house on the market.....
Almost a month ago our house went sale pending and is set to close in mid October....
We bought a little piece of property that was filled with trash so that we could clean up all the trash (which was completed thanks to a fellow who cleans up trashy property for a living- I will take pics soon and post- It turned out GREAT!!) build a house on it and move there.....
Recently, my Matt was called by a family who has a cattle ranch in a small town (like 450 people small) about 45 minutes away from our hometown- They were looking for a ranch manager to manage their property and their cattle....

• Sale Pending House
• Matt has a knack for managing large ranches and has extensive experience with cattle (he grew up on a dairy farm)
• 2 Teenage Boys that LOVE living in the country (we spent 2 years living on a large ranch in Hawaii and they loved every minute of it)
• The trashy property that was cleaned up has a small house on it that will make a great rental- the rent will more than make the payment for the property (instead of us building on it right now)

What does all of this equal?

I will be waking up to the sound of mooing every morning starting the day after tomorrow....

We're moooooving to a cattle ranch :) :) :)

and...
not to change the subject BUT
When I got home from the ranch tonight (I was starting to unpack the first load of stuff that had arrived) I was looking around my house- telling myself that I should be way more stressed out about how dirty it is- I shrugged it off and walked up to my room to get in bed...I stopped at the door and looked around- busted up laughing and thought to myself....
What a Mess!! While the thought passed my mind that before I got in bed I should pick up all the stuff off the floor and fill those boxes you see....instead, I choose to lay down in my unmade bed, grab my computer, ignore all the mess and talk to you guys instead :)
Hope you all had a great Tues.- I am looking forward to sharing stories about what it is like living on a cattle ranch......





The boys and Elle's playing with moving boxes :)

Thank You For Visiting

As 2013 winds down I would like to thank a few of you who have visited my blog this year on a regular basis- Thanks for sharing a bit of our life- for taking the time to check in!   May God Bless and keep each one of you and may this Holiday season find your family blessed beyond measure....   Russia...Thank you for visiting
Canada...Thank you for visiting
Mexico...Thank you for visiting
Thailand...Thank you for visiting
Netherlands...Thank you for visiting
United Kingdom...Thank you for visiting
Australia...Thank you for visiting
Malaysia...Thank you for visiting
Germany...Thank you for visiting   Japan...Thank you for visiting   And from the USA.......Thank you for visiting!!   (If you visit and do not see your country on here.... THANK YOU for visiting too)

Burried Treasure & The Shirtless Walk Home

Shortly after moving to Hawaii we all realized that the usual 'Oregon' Breakfast we were used to (Eggs, bacon, toast) was just too heavy to eat first thing in the morning- We threw around what sounded good to eat (or drink) and came up with the solution of smoothies.
When you live on a tropical island the possibilities of fresh fruit is endless.........mango, papaya, pineapple, bananas (that could be picked from a tree out front) you name it they've got it!  You add a little Greek yogurt in with that fresh fruit and you've got yourself a fine island breakfast............
Unless.........
You have a stomach like mine...
fruit is a quick turn around...
20-30 minutes max

Our friends Eli and Julie and their son Isaiah were flying into town from Hawaii for this past Thanksgiving Holiday- We met Eli and Julie through Isaiah- Isaiah and Ryan met their 5th grade year, right after we moved to Kauai, and became friends- 'Isaiah's like a brother mom!' is what my Ryan would tell me (to this day he says the same thing- It's a beautiful thing seeing 2 boys that have not seen each other in a year and a half pick up right where they left off- not missing a beat).  During the conversations we shared while they were visiting this past week they said how nice the beaches looked on the ranch our family was caretakers at- how the current caretakers kept the beaches immaculate (because of the way the tide and currents moved, one of the beaches named 'long beach' at the ranch would collect quite a bit of rubbish that was thrown into the water from passing ships, etc.).....

As they were talking about the immaculate beaches a memory came flooding back and I had a good laugh to myself :)

For some reason it did not register after I had drank that smoothie what was going to happen in a half hour- After I guzzled it I asked Matt if he wanted to go walking to the beach- The beach I was asking him to walk along was on the ranch- Tourists and locals could access the beach by boat but only those staying at the ranch could access the beach by land- because of this, it was a hit or miss whether we would see people on the beach- This particular morning the beach was 'people' free (thank goodness).  Midway through the walk on the beach I felt that rumble....then a sort of pressure that could only mean one thing.

'You're going to have to go "outside" Steph'
'I have never had to go outside before Matt and I don't intend to start now'
pause
rumble and more pressure
tight legged run for just a few steps

When the reality of the situation hit I realized two things
1. I was not going to make it back to a flushing toilet
2. I had no toilet paper

I was wearing a bathing suit- Layering is not an option when everyday is humid and hot
Matt was wearing one of his favorite tank tops

When it was done I knew I could not drag that tank top home so I did the only noble thing
Dug a hole and buried it right there, on the beach, in the sand- behind a large piece of driftwood.

We walked home that day, Matt shirtless grumbling about how I had used one of his favorite shirts
Me, silently praying nobody ever found that little piece of buried treasure..........

I wonder just how immaculately the current caretakers have cleaned long beach :) :)

p.s. this post is lovingly dedicated to Julie, Eli, and Isaiah who shared so many special memories with us in Hawaii and who will continue to share special memories with us in Oregon- it's especially dedicated to Julie though- who sat on my couch and talked to me while I ran back and forth to the bathroom yesterday after drinking a beefed up vitamin Orange Juice.

Here's to some buried treasure and a shirtless walk home!

Left to Right: Ryan, my nephew Jess, Eli, and Isaiah all walking on Long Beach (Kauai 2011)

Twenty Nine Months

She's already 29 months old.

Your pretty cute Elle's.....pretty cute indeed!!

Love You Forever

Just after Ellie was born my sis in law Erika gave us a stash of books that her boys, my nephew's Blake and David,  had grown out of-

One of the books in the stash was titled 'Love You Forever'.....

By the time I was done reading, Ellie was looking up at me asking 'You cryin' mommy' 'You Cryin?'

Yes Sweetie, Mommy is crying :)

It's the end of the book where the son holds his mom that gets me every time!!

 

Love You Forever

 

by Robert Munsch

A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she held him, she sang:
I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.
The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran all around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and he took his mother's watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say, "this kid is driving me CRAZY!"
But at night time, when that two-year-old was quiet, she opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor, looked up over the side of his bed; and if he was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:
I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.
The little boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was nine years old. And he never wanted to come in for dinner, he never wanted to take a bath, and when grandma visited he always said bad words. Sometimes his mother wanted to sell him to the zoo!
But at night time, when he was asleep, the mother quietly opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep, she picked up that nine-year-old boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:
I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.
The boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a teenager. He had strange friends and he wore strange clothes and he listened to strange music. Sometimes the mother felt like she was in a zoo!
But at night time, when that teenager was asleep, the mother opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep she picked up that great big boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:
I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.
That teenager grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a grown-up man. He left home and got a house across town. But sometimes on dark nights the mother got into her car and drove across town.  If all the lights in her son's house were out, she opened his bedroom window, crawled across the floor, and looked up over the side of his bed. If that great big man was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:
I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.
Well, that mother, she got older. She got older and older and older. One day she called up her son and said, "You'd better come see me because I'm very old and sick." So her son came to see her. When he came in the door she tried to sing the song. She sang:
I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always...
But she couldn't finish because she was too old and sick. The son went to his mother. He picked her up and rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And he sang this song:
I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my Mommy you'll be.
When the son came home that night, he stood for a long time at the top of the stairs. Then he went into the room where his very new baby daughter was sleeping. He picked her up in his arms and very slowly rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while he rocked her he sang:
I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

Important Traditions

I totally showed my boys one of their Christmas gifts tonight.... I knew they would be so excited about their new Bog boots I couldn't hardly help myself.......Just before I showed them their new boots (that will be wrapped and given to them on Christmas Eve) I let them in on an important tradition....a tradition started 19 years ago this Christmas Season.
1994 was the first Christmas Matt and I celebrated as a married couple- For some reason, that Christmas I was really excited about giving Matt his gift (Can't even remember what it was)- I was also really excited about seeing what he had gotten me-
One night in early December that excitement got the better of me and I took out that hidden gift and showed Matt what it was............I then begged him to show me what he bought me.......after we both took a looksee we carefully put the gifts away and they did not appear again until Christmas Eve-

Since that first Christmas gift 'show off' between Matt and I, we have done the same thing every year- not just limiting it to Christmas but to Birthday's too!
This year it was time....
time to let our boys in on this important tradition...

New Blog Look

A couple of weekends ago we had our family pictures taken.......They turned out BEAUTIFUL!  It has been my habit, since first blogging (2010), to have our family picture as the header on the top of the blog.  The colors we wore this year (pink/black for Ellie and I & black/light blue/white for the boys) did not match the color scheme on my blog back drop so I decided to change up the blog background a bit....
Have a great Thursday!!

Favorites.....

A few favorite 'Couple' shots- Ones that are heart warming no matter how many times you see.......

(Thank you to my facebook friends, who had absolutely no idea that I was going to use these)

:)

 

 

That was then

This is now

The Sportsman by Eli

The following was written by my son Eli (a senior in high school) for his English class.............
You did an awesome job on this poem Kid!!

 

FOR MY PEOPLE

ELI B

PERIOD 2- ENGLISH

11/4/13

 

For my people everywhere hunting and fishing

This is not a sport for some, it is a lifestyle.

From the beginning of time to the end of days,

There will always be the sportsman.

 

For the bow hunter that once roamed the land

The skill was attained by the user.

This was quickly turned into a sport for some

This we call the sportsman.

 

For the man with the Winchester which brought great destruction.

Others used it in a different way.

The way of the modern sportsman

This brought new light in spite of the destruction.

 

For the father teaching his children the simplicity of life

For the soldier fighting for our country

For the farmer working the land

They all have the same thing in hand.

 

For the camo that is worn by some

But, worn out by others

This is the sportsman.

 

For the modern sportsman

The honest, hardworking sportsman

Whose work isn’t nine to five

But, five to nine

This is the way of the modern sportsman.

 

.

 

 

 

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words, Adoption Awareness Month

Each November is recognized as 'National Adoption Awareness' Month- Adoption is important no matter what month it is but, during the month of November, certain organizations will take both ad space and work time to educate others in honor of it being the 'awareness' month.

Adoption Awareness

You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words

As most of you know, we adopted our Ellie at birth- Ellie's birthmom's  name is Heather......She made the selfless decision to place Ellie with our family, not because she did not love Elle's, but because she loved Ellie so much that she wanted to do what was best for her. 

In our family, Ellie is adored by her big brothers Eli and Ryan

 

 

 

She is ADORED by her daddy......

 



 

 

And She is adored by her mommy................

 

 

Thank You Vivid Photography for this photo

Adoption Awareness is this:
If you are wondering if adoption is right for your family, don't stop wondering until you have pursued to the closed door (or open door)
If you know adoption is not for your family, don't stop praying for those of us that have the incredible privilege of being part of adoption- Pray for the child that has been adopted, pray for that precious birth mom that made that selfless decision, pray for the family that was blessed with having a child join them by way of adoption, and pray for the children that are waiting in either foster care or orphanages for their forever families.

Family Pictures....funny, weird, gross!!

It's that time of year.........Family Pictures
An hour of forcing my boys to stand (or sit) posing for the camera- Ellie throwing a fit while being bribed with gum (her new fav)..........Matt grabbing me in places that are not appropriate for our family picture just before the picture snaps so that we have to re-take so that you all are not traumatized when you get our card........
I was going to skip them this year until last week- My sis in law hands me her phone and say's
'Look at our family pictures'
They were LOVELY!!
I was so inspired after seeing hers I booked ours.....
Once they were booked the research started
pinterest: family pictures
Google Images: trendy family pictures?
stalking facebook for friends family pics...........

It was amazing what I came across-
some funny, some weird, and some just gross (the adam eve)
I will post our family pics after they are taken  BUT until then please enjoy what I have been looking at

:)

hee hee hee! If someone sent me this card I would keep it even after Christmas just because it makes me laugh everytime I look at it.............Cheesy- absolutely..............funny- oh yea!!

First thought when I saw this was....what a disrespectful bunch of kids- Second thought...this picture looks like a scene from the 90's movie 'Home Alone'

Too much kissing.............YUCK! One couple kissing is cute- two is just....well...Weird



#nowords #gross #whatrtheythinking

Is this really a moment to celebrate.....on a Christmas Card?
For those that attend my church- On first glance who does the dad look like-
Hint...KH

Everyday Life....Pictures from Oct. & Nov.