May Day Pictures

Some new pics...

Here are Sean and Patience in the Horse Chestnut tree during nicer weather. It's been raining for the past few dasy, which means we've been staying inside. Today is a Danica day, and she arrived this a.m. with Max & Ruby! She's been so generous in sharing with Patience, and it's really cute how they're "play-acting" with them. They got themselves all posed in this shot, and then said, "take a picture of me!" So I did...

The Long-Awaited Family Portraits

Monday, April 23

Here are a few shots from our very busy weekend. It began Friday afternoon where 15 Steitz/Richey/Murphys converged on Yary's portrait studio for Mom's family portrait present (finally!). We think the portraits turned out well; we'll find out for sure sometime this afternoon when the proofs are on their website.

Nathan and Sean went to a cadets OAT this weekend and had a blast. They both came home very tired; Sean slept for nearly 12 hours last night.

Nathan took his driver test again this morning. I wish I could be posting happy news, but, unfortunately, he didn't pass. Hopefully he can get in again to take it soon...they're currently making appointments for the end of June. So much for help with the driving...

Today I'm doing scads of laundry, otherwise laying low.

Photo Fashions

Here they are...the outfits I spent hours searching for. Our extended family is taking portraits Friday evening in Bellingham, requiring hours of logistical maneuvers, including getting coordinating clothing for 15 people.

Pictured here is Jordyn, wearing pink capris, a brown top, and cute little huraches, all purchased at Old Navy or Wal-Mart. She's holding Patience's size 10 shoes.

I will heave a huge sigh of relief when this weekend is over...there are too many activities and commitments, and I rarely think that.

Who is this big girl?

Jordyn, since Easter, has really got the hang of smiling for the camera! Here she is giving a full-out smile and I'm trying to think who she looks like now!

All is well here. Nathan left this a.m. for his Ottawa trip. He left at 4:50 a.m., and his very kind dad drove him to the airport while I continued sleeping and dreaming that Nathan forgot to take a bunch of (important) stuff.

It's nice here today. Partially sunny, on the cool side. I'm hoping our grass seed comes up soon. It's been 9 days now. Mind you some of those days were wet and cold, so maybe that's not conducive to sprouting grass seeds.

Tonight we're having pasta, garlic bread, and Caesar salad, the last of the veggies from our shopping trip two weeks ago. Tomorrow is shopping day again. All I've purchased in two weeks is 1 gallon of milk, 2 loaves of sandwich bread, and some cereal that we didn't need but was on a sale that I couldn't pass up. Not bad, if I do say so myself.

I'll post news from Nathan as it becomes available. I did hear from the trip chaperone, Glenda, that at the Calgary airport all was well. That was about 90 minutes into the trip : )

Easter 2007

Happy Easter!

Here are Patience and Jordyn enjoying their Easter bunnies and chocolate carrots from Grandma Murphy.

It's a cold, rainy day here, so it looks like the matching spring dresses for church are not a good idea : (.

After church we are headed to Val and Dave's to visit (including Cody!) and have a big Easter dinner. I made a double Cut Glass Cake in my huge casserole dish. It weighs about 20 pounds!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter, wherever their travels took them.

Nice weather + school holiday + hard work = progress!

That was yesterday. We worked most of the day outside. In our 6 or so hours, we transplanted three of the six blueberry bushes over onto our property (that's a huge job!), pressure washed the driveway, pulled out some ratty rhododendrons, hauled off a load of large rocks that used to outline a flower bed, and then install 1,000 square feet of sod! Also some smaller general clean-up jobs. Everyone was involved, right down to Sean, who watched his sisters while the rest of us did the sod. He took them for a long walk out back. Imagine our surprise when he brought them home, carrying a sleeping Jordyn! We celebrated our great day of work with take out Greek food, Pizza Hut, various yummy liquids, and ice cream! It's great when kids will work for food...

Pic-nic

Today when Sean got home from school he asked Patience if she wanted to take a walk in a beautiful, warm day! Of course she did. Sean asked me, on the sly, if I'd prepare a pic-nic for them while they were gone so he could surprise Patience when they came back. Of course I did! They were so cute together. Patience is going to have incredible memories of growing up with three big brothers. She's one lucky young lady.

Patience's First Dentist Visit

Patience had her very first dental appointment on Monday, and for not quite three years old, she did GREAT! She let them polish and floss her teeth AND even did the flouride treatment. They were so good with her, making her think it was all fun and games. She wants to go back...how do you explain "6 months" to a preschooler? Oh, and no cavities!

Our Victoria Getaway

Here is where we're staying with Frank and Heather: http://www.victoriaregent.com/popup_rooms/2bdrm4_waterfront.html
It's a 2-room waterfront suite right at the harbour...walking distance from all the amenities (except Buchart Gardens), and with a living room for card-playing late into the evening.
Did I mention Valarie is watching my girlies?
Thank you, Valarie!

My goofy, goofy girl!

Our little Miss Jordyn is developing quite the sense of humor! Here she is at 6:30 this a.m. (okay, that's not so funny) playing with the new bouncy ball the girls got at the grocery store last night (it was on the list, really!) wearing Mrs. Potato Head's glasses.

Don and I took the girlies grocery shopping last night to Canadian SuperStore armed with McDonald's cheeseburgers, fries, and shakes. They did quite well throughout the store (Jordyn did expire at the end) and then Don and I got Subway sandwiches for dinner on the way out. It was not a frugal dinner night.

Today I am working the Langley Flippers registration from 11 to 1. Don has a client with a messed-up computer who he is visiting this morning. Apparently she let her visiting grandchildren on her computer and now she has no favorites, no menus, no anything. Don can't imagine what they did, but he'll try to fix her up.

Everyone is well here. We have nothing on our calendar this afternoon or tomorrow, besides church, so we're going to try to get a family work bee going and make some progress on our front yard. Right now it looks like a freshly rototilled field, just waiting to be planted in corn or something. I think we've decided on sod for the side yard and seed for the front yard.

Have a lovely day!

Yard work continues...

Our front yard has to get uglier before it can get pretty! Right now Don and Nathan are out there with the backhoe taking out shrubs, stumps, and other stuff to make more room for lawn. This will not only be low maintenance, but it will make more room for the girls to play. I'll continue to post progress shots.

Body Art

Last night, while Don and I were tending to Jordyn, who got hurt, Patience took the opportunity to steal her markers into the living room and proceed to write all over herself and the t.v.

The good news: these are washable markers.

Sea Cadet Jr.

Here is Sean wearing his Sea Cadet uniform for the first time. You have to attend Parade Night four times before they issue you a uniform. Last week was Stand Down, so they didn't have Parade Night, and the week before that was Sports Night, so he wore his PT gear. I think he looks great in his unform! It's pretty plain right now, but soon he'll be earning all sorts of patches which I'll have to sew on.

He's still enjoying it, and was the "flag person" last night, which means he was responsible for raising and lowering the flags at the appropriate time. It's much more complicated than it sounds, because there are three flags on three different lines, and they all get raised and lowered based on where they are in their sunset ceremony.

Going Bye-Bye!

You'll never guess who is going to Victoria! With her husband, without any of her dozens of children, with her best high school friend...

ME!

I'm doing the happy dance right now! Don and I are meeting up with Heather and Frank and spending a blissful weekend in Victoria in June. Dear, wonderful, magnanimous sister is taking the girlies. Not sure about the boys, but, quite frankly, they're the least of my worries.

Don and I haven't been away together since May 2005. Valarie reminded me what happens when we go on holidays and I promised her that would not be happening this time! No Victoria souvenirs for us!

Going swimming with Daddy!

Today was a gorgeous, sunny day so Don celebrated by taking Jordyn and Patience swimming after dinner. Don't worry, he had backup; Dylan went, too.

Jordyn was not sure about the pool at first and clung tightly to Don. In fact, she was pinching him, apparently. But after she warmed up to it a bit she had a great time toddling around the kiddie pool with Patience. Dylan swam some laps and then came and got each of the girls, one at a time, to go to the "big" pool with him.

They got home at 8ish, had some ice cream...they were starving...and then went to bed with nary a fuss! What a wonderful evening!

Some miscellaneous pics...

Here are some miscellaneous shots that I just took... Jordyn and I are a little lost right now because both Patience and Danica are napping right now, which leaves me as the sole playmate.

You can see the fence that Don Sr. is putting up right now. It's very nice... he purchased the panels instead of building them from scratch like most farmers would do! It is very bizarre to look out and see the fence there, and makes it look like we now have a very small front yard, but it's still quite big. And thankfully we have the big tree on our side of the property line. It would have been a great loss if the new owners cut that tree down; it provides great shade in summer afternoons.

Jordyn's Determination

Some of my babies just LOVE the dishwasher. They hear the door open and they sprint, to the best of their abilities, from wherever they are.

This is fairly annoying to the poor child whose chore it is to empty it! It takes forever to empty the dishes when every other second you have to redirect a determined baby! So, the boys attempt to barricade her out of the kitchen, using chairs, tables, large toys, boxes, and highchairs.

This just adds to the thrill of challenge, as far as Jojo is concerned. Here she is moving in, past the barricade.

Thank You! (I think...)

Patience just came up to me and gave me a big bear hug and said, "You're a nice, big mama!"

Update!

If you waded through yesterday's very pitiful post, here's an update on Nathan's drive test:
we were able to get him in on March 19 (the earliest possible date) in Maple Ridge, which is just across the river! Yeah! Now I'm back to thinking that my life will be so much better in two short weeks : )

Woe is me...

Welcome to my little pity party. I frequently think that I'm just a chronically postivie person always able to see a silver lining on every cloud, but this week I think it's more that I just rarely have clouds! A positive attitude is not difficult when everything is pretty much going well in our little world. But today I feel sorry for myself....

Yesterday Nathan took his driving test. This was the event that was going to free me! He would be able to drive himself to his (many) activities, and help out with getting his brothers to theirs. But, you guessed it, he didn't pass. That's not the bad part. The bad part is that the earliest appointment they could give him at our hometown is May 22. Not a typo. Two and a half months. That's ridiculous. So we ended up going online and finding an April 3 appointment but it's in North Vancouver. That's about a 90-minute drive. We'll be going in the middle of the day, which is good traffic-wise, but I'll have both girls with me and we'll be hanging out at the Driver Licensing place while Nathan takes his 45-minute road test. Do you feel sorry for me yet? Of course it will all be worth it if Nathan walks out of there with his license, but there's obviously no guarantee of that...

There is an appointment on March 26, but it's in Kelowna. Would it be silly to drive 3 hours for Nathan to take a drive test?

But that's not the end...

Yesterday afternoon the boys had dental appointments. Of course I had both girls with me too. It takes a certain amount of energy to corral them for 90 minutes, but it's only twice/year...whatever. My 17 1/2 year old son, who has been cavity-free his entire life (a point of pride for me, apparently) has a CAVITY! Dylan has one, too, but that's not as shocking. So now we have more appointments, more corraling, more expense, etc.

Okay, pity party over.

Onto more important news. Don and I are embarking on a new venture into the world of non-consumerism. We read this article in Christianity Today and were inspired to try this for our family, but on a smaller scale because of our family's gargantuan size.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/mp/2006/002/7.44.html

Shopping once every two months obviously takes a lot of planning and list making! I planned a one-month menu for March, and then I'll repeat it for April. I made lists for the butcher, the farmers market, Costco, the bread store, the grocery store...and then we shopped over the course of three days. We spent $600, which, I think, is what we normally spend in one month. But if this food lasts two months, we've cut our spending in half. We do have a small amount of cash allocated for milk and fresh fruits and veggies each week.

This will theoretically save time (no weekly shopping trips, yeah!) and money, since each trip into the grocery store, even if it's just for a jug of milk, ends up costing $40...

I'll let you know how it goes! Oh, on tonight's menu: teriyaki chicken, rice, and broccoli. Can't get much better than that!

Don & Don (don't you just love when fathers and sons share a name?) are digging two huge trenches today for our new power and water services. You should see my yard (not). And it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Heather, please tell your dad and Beth that theirs was the prettiest wedding cake I ever saw. I miss you! I can't believe I got within 100 miles of you and we still couldn't connect... Hopefully we can spend some more time together this side of heaven, but in case that doesn't happen, lets request mansions right next door to each other, so we can catch up then.

Patience and Jordyn are playing together...kind of a hide-and-seek game, and giggling together the entire time. It's very cute and heart-warming. I can hardly remember my troubles through their laughter : )