Thanksgiving and Hope

Monday when Jason went to get the transmission, the parts yard informed him that they found a crack in the exterior part....but if we still wanted it they would pay to have it welded for us and also knock $200 off the price...so we almost got it for the price of the first one. So we are hoping tomorrow we can pick it up and FINALLY have it put into our van. Crazy, but hoping this is the last car problem for awhile. We are hoping to also sell "rocket", Jason's car....so if you know anyone who would be interested in a Nissan 240 SX...let us know.

But the best news is.....yesterday the Union and Boeing announced that they had come to a tentative agreement. Some details were released today and Jason has to go with the rest of the union members to vote on Saturday. So please keep the prayers going that at least 50% plus one vote to accept this new contract....that would mean Jason could go back to work on Monday!! After 8 weeks and some stressful times, we are hoping this is the case. The new contract also extended the next negotiations from 3 years to 4 years.....the longer the better! We will let you know the outcome come this weekend....and thanks again to everyone that has been so generous and helpful during this time.

Now I lay me down to sleep....

The other night Jason and I were going to bed and all of a sudden my heart stopped because I heard a weird voice coming from Angel's room. Well...after a few seconds we realized that Angel had grabbed her Guardian Angel toy from the top of her bookshelf and she was playing it over and over again. We started laughing.......but after 20 minutes of non-stop "Now I lay me down to sleep" prayers we were wondering if she would ever stop. She would play it over and over again trying to remember the lines......what were we to do, go in there and say "enough praying....go to sleep!?" So funny, didn't come out that great....but hope you can hear it.

The "Pumpin House"

Yesterday we went to a local pumpkin patch to let the girlies find their own little pumpkins. Angel was so funny. She kept walking around saying "I love this place....I love this farm" and then kept telling us we were at the "pumpin house". So cute. She liked the goats and llamas which she called "mamas". Emma was fascinated by the ducks and said "UCK"...they were more interested in all the fun things around them than in taking pictures....but here are a couple shots.

Pretty Red Shoes

Thanks Aunty Megs for my sparkly red shoes....and my Christmas dress from last year still fits too!!

Couldn't Have Said it Better...

...read THIS. Pray, fast and offer up small sacrifices for the next 8 days until the election!! The most vulnerable depend on our votes!!

Really Good Reads

The top ten things that would happen if we elect a pro-choice president On November 4th:

and

Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights?

Delta Crib Recall

Click HERE if you have a Delta Crib (which both of ours are) to find out about the fix it kits for the recall problems.

Can't we get a break?

Well....we had the car towed to a guy Jason found that would put in the "new" transmission for $300 earlier this week. Jason went to pick up the transmission at the wrecking yard (which we had already paid $400) to only find out that they found a hole in it and had to return our money and we were once again searching for a transmission. So....the only one we can found for the van is $650 with still only a 90 day warranty at another junk yard. UGH. So we are hoping that we can still have this all fixed for under $1000 which is still way less than the shop quoted with a new transmission, but more than what we were definitely hoping for.

On the strike front, the members were ordered to go to DC for talks....and those started yesterday...but due to the media black out we will not hear anything about them until they are over...so please pray that it is good news!! We are trying to find out other options for health coverage etc in the meantime.

So....still one day at a time and one foot in front of the other....right? Truly looking forward to my "normalcy" to return to our little lives...

Dancing Diva

We tried to put Angel's hair in a bun like a ballerina....but didn't really work, need more practice. But she wanted to dance anyways....and did circles around her little sis who wasn't sure what to think!

Wish Lists

Thanks to this post by my friend Ellie, I have now become a fan of Amazon's universal wish list. What an easy way to link things you find that you like and then give friends/family one place to look for when they need ideas. We have been collecting the Sandra Boynton books for the girls and just started getting the rest of the Berenstain Bear books....which Angel loves and I am so excited because I did when I was little....so this makes it easy to keep track of ones we need to find. I have our wish lists on our sidebar and know I will have lots of fun adding to them!! I always lose my notes and scraps of paper that I write stuff down on that I think of....like book names, authors etc...so maybe this will make it one nice place to keep it all!!

Living Proof

This was a good movie we watched the other night. My mother-in-law told us about it....it is the true story about the doctor that studied the HER-2 component of breast cancer and created the drug Herceptin (HER-2 is what my mother-in-law tested positive for and why she has started chemo and will start Herceptin in December.) It was a very interesting movie to see how drugs like this get created and how much the drug companies control its production and use. The details about the doctor's life and dedication along with the women in the movie were very touching. It is nice to have a better understanding of the drug and its history since it is hitting home for us. Recommend it. Click on pic above to go to site.

Prayer Intention

Please keep Jason's grandmother, Nannie, in your prayers. She went into the hospital over the weekend with pneumonia. They are keeping her there until probably this Friday....worry a little more because she only has half of one lung working due to her complications with scleroderma.

Belated Birthday Wishes

I just realized that I never blogged birthday wishes for several nieces and nephews....October is a very busy month for us.

On September 19th, Olivia turned 2...

...October 5th, Miranda (on right) turned 4...and on October 18th, Lexi (on left) turned 5...

...October 20th, Tyler turned 12!!!

We love and miss you all!!!

11 Months - Can't believe it!

Portland Trip - Game Two

We let the kiddies sleep in as long as they could this morning and enjoyed a leisurely morning. My mom went to a conference for the day and my poor dad ended up having to take his car to the shop to get the shocks replaced. So we hung out at the hotel room visiting with Caitlin. Angelica was very silly and excited to play with Aunt Caitlin. Then when dad returned we went and hung out at Caitlin's apartment and then picked mom and headed to the game. It was a very cold game so we all tried to bundle up as much as possible. They won 3-0 and it was a very good game. We were sad to say goodbye to Caitlin but it was already 730 and we had a three hour drive ahead. It was a fun soccer watching trip and the girlies were AWESOME. Unfortunately last night they both had bad colds and so today we are trying to feel better....nothing like suctioning runny noses all day long and not being able to sleep!!

Portland Trip - Game One

Friday we drove down to Portland to watch Caitlin play soccer...Emma's first Portland soccer trip. Angel loved seeing her Aunt Caitlin play "soccer ball" and she loves shouting "Go CU!" It was Caitlin's senior recognition game Friday so we got to go out on the field with her while remarks about each of the senior players were made. Hard to believe four years has gone by so quickly....we will miss watching soccer games next year! I made up a poster for Caitlin of soccer pictures from elementary school all the way through college. Caitlin gave Angel her number jersey and Angel loved wearing it although it looked more like a dress!! Allison led us all in singing the national anthem and she did a great job (listen below). It was a good game and they won 6-0. Angel and Emma decided to take a nap during the second half (the game didn't start until 5 so they were tired). Then we went and saw Caitlin's cute apartment and went out to eat dinner. Then it was to bed after we could finally convince Angel to sleep in the play pen next to our bed.....she kept calling it "Emma's bed" and finally fell asleep while Jason laid next to her holding her hand. Poor thing has a runny nose and cough so sleeping it a bit difficult right now. We were spoiled by a king size bed and oh so wishing we had one back at home!

New Dance Moves

This past week, Angel learned how to kick her legs while rolling her arms....so fun!

Imagination at Play

Angel spent all evening the other day setting this fridge toy up on the coffee table.... ....holding this block in her hand...

....said she was watching "Tom Sawyer show" on her "little TV" with her "remoke"

Our Little Budding Architect

Good Reads

Life Matters
Pro-life Catholics for Obama
Changing Hearts and Minds
Sweet Dreams

Boeing Update

Well, Monday night we did not receive great news about Jason's job status due to the union strike and Boeing. Apparently, they met for the first time to discuss many issues...and before they even got the ones that the strike started over (wages, labor, benefits etc) they came to a standstill over another issue. Fuzzy on all the details, but Boeing is wanting to contract out some jobs and the union doesn't want its members to lose their jobs....so they left the tables with no resolutions and no idea when they would come back for discussions. So.....with no end in sight....the strike goes on....and we try to make decisions day to day as what is best to do. The one quote I keep trying to focus on is by Mother Teresa: "I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much."

Happy Birthday Joanie

Today is a good friend (more like a member of the family) birthday. I hate being so far away from you Joanie and hope we can see each other again soon. I hope your day was a good one and know that you are in our thoughts and prayers....you deserve a wonderful year ahead. We love and miss you!!

Prayers Today and Thanksgiving

Prayers today are being said for my mother-in-law as she has her first chemo treatment. I will keep you posted on how she does through this tough time and again thanks for the prayers and support during this time.

Today I have also once again been shown the kindness, love and blessings of friendship. We found two bags on our doorstep this morning filled with thoughtful tokens of kindness and help for us during this tough time we have been having due to the strike issue. We were so surprised and thankful and it really struck a chord. I have been thinking all day about friendship and kindness and truly living the Gospel. We are very blessed to have such wonderful family members that help take care of us when we need it and are a huge support system. But, we are even more blessed to have such wonderful friends that support us and help us through the good and the hard times. This whole experience has made me so humble and thankful and trusting in truly God's plan to get us through each and every day. The material things may come and go, but true friendship and love remain and will get us through the darkest of times. I only hope that I am as good of a friend as all of you have been to us. I hope that one day we will have the opportunity to follow this loving example and help someone else when they are in need. So thanks again for the goodies, the help, and most of all the prayers and offerings you are doing on our behalf!!

Parenting 101: How to Wear your Baby