Everything but the Kitchen sink

There are a lot of things I like about our house, BUT the kitchen sink was not one of them. The sink was very shallow at a whopping 5.5 inches deep. Everytime I did dishes or turned the sink on the water would splash up and all over the counter and floor. We got this beautiful sink as a gift and I couldn't wait for Clu to put it in. We have had it for a couple of weeks, but waited for the painting to be done (so he could get the old sink dirty).

BEFORE (with my worker bees):

. Clu has worked his tail off making this sink perfect for me (there were a lot of problems with the old one, including a leak that Clu also fixed)!

AFTER:

We ALL love the deep sink!
Showing I can hide dirty dishes in my sink. Yeah!
Max calls it the "bass" (bath) sink.

Gettin' Comfy

This was max at storytime during the puppet show today:

Max is in the white shirt, up front.

Max loves storytime and we faithfully go every week. He loves Mr. Dallin, who reminds me EXACTLY of my brother Zac (on a mission in Taiwan). After storytime Max goes and sits by Mr. Dallin (who with Miss Teresa do storytime) on the steps and visits with him. Mr. Dallin so kindly visits, gives high fives, knuckles and laughs with him.

Buddies

Max has a cute little buddy/our neighbor, Aiken who comes over to play about twice a week. Aiken is about 8 months old and they play so well together. Max is so sad when it is Aiken's nap time and we put him to bed. For the two hours he is down Max keeps asking for him and can't wait for him to get up to play again.

They are so fun to watch...they roll around on the floor, crawl after each other, and even roll on top of each other. We love having you, Aiken

Feel the love

We started by sending love....
(little leftie)

Next came receiving the Love.... Max loved the letters, packages and gifts. You would've thought it was Christmas all over again. Thanks everyone!
A John Deere pull tractor from Mommy & Daddy.

Package from G&G Snow with a fishing game

Fire, fire

If you are a boy, is it a requirement to love fires?

Sitting on the coffee table watching Papa build a fire.

While we were there Marcus was building a fire and decided to make up a sign for fire and teach it to Max. As it turns out it was really the sign for fire.

Get outta Town

In mid January Max and I had enough of the inversion and so we packed our bags and headed to SG. We had a wonderful time (while Clu worked and worked and WORKED at work and at home). This is a picture of Max hangin' around with Papa and Stevie la stray (kind of my parents cat).

Nothing like watchin' Fox news and playin' with Papa & Stevie.

Flashback of Max & Stevie (Sept. 2008)

Pray for him

My friend Carrie posted on her blog about her cousin and little boy. She had a link to the cousins blog which I clicked on so I could read the story. It touched my heart in SO many ways that I wanted to share. It gave me such a realization of what wonderful things we have being members of the church and not just from our eternal perspective, but also the help that we offer to others. This was a perfect example of strength (of a mother), help (from neighbors and friends), working together (family), love from ALL, and the tender mercies that God shows us. Please take time to read this and let it touch your lives. You will want to start on February 1st, 2010 and can continue to read the updates (if you wish). Pray for this little boy!

Side job

When I was younger I never thought that I would be domestic or make things, but as the years have come and gone I have grown to love a fun project. Here are a couple of the latest and greatest:

LtoR: a necklace that I made with items purchased on clearance at the jewlery supply store on the reservation; a broach made out of a vintage button* (x2 - I also made one for my mother-in-law); hat knitted for my mother to give as a gift; vintage pearl buttons* made into a necklace (x2 - also for my mother-in-law); necklace for my mother; and hat to give as a baby gift.

*Thank you Phyllis for the vintage buttons that came from Snow Cleaners. Some fun things to cherish!

Helmet Heads

Clu got a bike for Christmas, but was told to pick it out the one he wanted. It has only taken him this long to choose the one he wanted (he has been looking for bike for about 6 months). He got the "Clu" special as my mom calls it. He negotiated the price down to less than half the MSRP!

There was a small catch....he also had to get a seat for Max to ride with him. He brought this seat home to try out (which didn't work so well because Max is too tall, but they had to try it to find this out.)

Don't worry all you mothers out there, we also got helmets for the boys, thanks to Nana Deb (which she gave Clu for Christmas).

Merry Christmas to Clu a little late.

Snow Boy

The name fits this little guy. He loves to be outside and loves the "noooo" (snow) even more. Our backyard doesn't get a lot of sun and so we still have snow back there. Max and I went outside to shovel most of it out of the way so he could play back there. I had to pick him up kicking and screaming (literally) when it was time to go inside. We had only been out there for an hour, but he wanted to spend all day back there. This backyard is going to be a lifesaver in ALL four seasons!

Waving hello, but is too busy to look at the camera.

Visiting with our neighbor, Angel, the dog (yes, she is the only ones that lives at the house) but Max loves her.

Daddy's Helper

Max is always right by Clu's side in whatever he is doing. Currently he is working on painting and so...Max has been "helping" with the prep and painting. Don't mind the runny nose and drooling. We are getting over a yucky cold and getting 4 molars at once. By coincidence he is wearing his Daddy's little helper shirt, but it definitely fits the little guy.

According to Max they are not sanding, they are making a mess.

Treat - "Pop Pop"

Mas is just like his dad. He thinks that "pop-pop" or popcorn is a treat. I have tried to set him straight, but he is just not a big sweets fan. This is his idea of having a treat:
Whenever I get out a bowl to cook with, he is sure that we should have "pop-pop" instead.