Choo Choo ... Tait is Two (part 1)

On the weekend before his birthday we threw him a little party to a theme inspired by his constant exclamation "choo choo Muma!!! choo choo!!!" whenever he sees a train, or a railroad crossing sign, or railroad tracks or even the lines above the 'MAX' track that runs down the freeway we drive along most often.

Because I know some of you are interested in all the little details ... here are the pictures I got of the activities for the kids.

Our 're-use-able' birthday banner!

Train attire: engineer caps, whistles and bandannas

the Tait Express, the party train
our mode of 'transportation' between activities

the front view

Activity #1

Activity #2

Activity #3

Activity #4

Our Birthday Boy!!

Choo Choo ... Tait is Two (part 2)

To keep on with the detailed photo-mentary ... here is a picture by picture walk through of the morning.

Our boy in his birthday outfit
(showing off the curls which won't be there much longer!)

ALL ABOARD!!

off we go

... through the gate and around the back yard ...

... and in through the back door.

train stamping

magnet making

lunch arranged in trains

the cake

bloooooooow

Present time!

Snuggles with Papa after waking from his 'after party nap'.

Cherished Friends

It is a wonderful thing to have a friendship that has stood the test of time and is still flourishing. Sarah as been an important part of my life since our freshman year of high school (in the Philippines). We are kindred souls and I'm so thankful for her.

I'm truly amazed at how often we have been able to see each other over the years since we parted ways at the end of our senior year. At the beginning of August I was able to make a trip to visit the Bergstrand family with my two kiddos.
It was such a blessed time. It was actually my third time to visit Bluffton ... the first, for their wedding, the second was when Renatah was 6 months old and now with two kids in tow.













We loved walking everywhere, meeting new friends, visiting the farm, eating fruit, getting little 'holiday treats' and just 'doing life' with our kids together.

Our Girl is Pre-School Bound

Earlier this year we made the decision to look into sending Renatah to a little Christian pre-school in our neighbourhood. We visited the school before the end of the last academic year and Renatah has been talking about it ever since!

We had one excited little girl eagerly awaiting her first day of school. Any time we drove or walked past the school she would voluntarily say "Look, that's my pre-school!!! Muma will take me and give me a kiss and say 'I love you, have a good day' and then I'll stay there all by myself and then Muma will come back and get me."

The day came and she was still as excited as she had been all summer.

Renatah was naturally a little apprehensive the minute we walked in the door. She held my hand tight and stood right by my side. We greeted her teachers and went on a little 'name hunt' to see all the places her name was written - her cubby, her shelf, her spot on the rug (uh-huh - a labeled spot on the edge of the carpet .... ?!?!). Then we wandered over to the toys. One of her strongest memories from our visit earlier in the year was the sand tray. That's where I left her happily burying 'polly-pocket' dolls in the sand!

I am so proud of my not-so-little girl. She did great as I left her there to return home to Papa and the kids waiting at home. I'm the one who cried!!! I didn't think I would at all. But - I did - I feel like it is such a big thing. Leaving my girl in the care of someone else for instruction. I know this is a good thing for her (and for me). She is an inquisitive soul and needs so much more stimulation and extension than I can give her at home while I also care for two little ones.

Today is day 5 and she is still as eager as she was on the first day. I'm praying that this love for learning and school is something that continues to grow as she does.

Tait and Silvie miss 'Ta-Ta', often calling out for her at the door and jumping into the stroller when it's time to go and pick her up. It's good for them too!!

Naomi's New Look

I know that typically a 'hunny-do' list refers to "to-do" lists created by wives for their husbands. I make my fair share for Tim!

The new look, however, comes from the list I've been creating of things that Tim has said "it would be cool if ..." or ... "you should ..." or ... "why don't you ...".

The first one I crossed off the list was to cut all my hair off and go super short. My good friend Joy did the cutting at the beginning of July.

The second one I just crossed off the list yesterday ... die my hair (pun intended) blond. I haven't been game enough to do it with long hair so I figured now was as good a time as any to try out the look. I'm still getting used to it ... but ... it's SO FUN to try different things out with my hair for a time! It'll grow back and one day this experimental phase of my hair life will be over (or maybe it won't!).

What do you think?! Should I keep it super short and blond?? Any and all comments welcome!

Moving Up

The kids have 'moved up' in their room. We decided, for no grand reason, that it was time to pack up the crib and moved Tait to a big boy bed. With Renatah that move was talked about and prepared for ... with Tait ... it just happened one night!

Renatah got to move to the bottom bunk. It was the 'blue bed' but to make the change a little more special for her we turned it into the 'purple bed'. She sleeps on one end of a double bottom bunk. I figure we can sleep up to three or maybe four kids across the bottom of that one!

Tait got to move into Renatah's 'old' bed. He was delighted, he often climbed into it at bed time to 'pretend' to go to sleep. So we didn't think the switch would be all that traumatic.

They are both doing fabulous in their new beds and we are quite surprised with how well they are going to sleep. We were prepared for many nights of talking and playing and giggling etc. What good sleepers we have, we are so so grateful, counting our blessings.

Tait has tested the boundaries a little, which is only to be expected. It's fun to see the 'delight' on his face when he gets himself up and comes to the top of the stairs to call me and tell me he's awake! No more screams from the crib ... yay!

A little bit about Tait

Our baby boy is growing up ... this week he has had a few milestone moments, moving from a 'baby' to a 'little boy'. One was his first haircut. I didn't 'want' to but he was starting to complain "Muma, eyes..." brushing the hair out of his eyes. Poor boy. So ... I did it ... gave him his first hair cut.

Just the front ... I couldn't bear to cut the curls ... they are too beautiful and, once they are gone, they are gone.

I'll save the other milestone for another post.

A little bit about Renatah

1. Feed the cat
   
2. Feed the fish
3. Let Muma do my hair
4. Get dressed
5. Eat breakfast
6. Brush teeth

in no particular order

Renatah is growing up and is able to and demands to do so much independently.

In Renatah's world everything has to have a place and a purpose and a reasonable explanation.

We decided it was about time to formalize some things for her in the creation of her 'morning jobs list'. She has taken on the world of 'jobs' with great enthusiasm and pride and often does things with out a reminder (I do realize that this will most likely be a trait that is fleeting!!). After a few days she came down stairs and said "Muma, I have to feed the cat, feed the fish and then ... feed me!"

Celebrating Spring

We have often talked about going down to the

Woodburn Tulip Festival and this year we made it.
Such beauty!

We all had a lovely Sunday afternoon, enjoying the festival activities and strolling amongst the display of colour.

Tait got stuck in a giant clog
and
Renatah went on her first ever pony ride

ok ... jumping right in!

Here's some thoughts from the 'here and now'.

As a couple we feel very encouraged and blessed that God has given us both a heart of hospitality and a desire to make our home open to people who need a place to crash. Be it a night or two or a week or two or even a year, we love to enrich our journey and our life story by sharing it with others.

Our most recent guests were a couple from Toronto who put a 'note out' through our church online 'bulletin board' seeking someone to stay the night with and go to church with in the morning. It was fun to meet Kevin and Meaghan, share a meal with them, watch them interact with our kids and hear their story.


I just glanced through our guest 'list' that is going to get put into our guest 'book' -- we have had over 20 guests in the 3 years we have lived here!! Such fond memories ... we look forward to meeting more people and sharing in their life story. If you fancy a trip to Portland ... we'll put you up!!

What to do

I have obviously neglected our blog for so long that I'm now at a point of deciding what to do ... do a lot of 'catching up' or just start fresh from now?! What do you think?!?!

The summer tales have concluded ... now on to our birthday season! We'll be caught up to the here and now before too long!

Now that Fall is well and truly here ... I'll tell you about our Summer

Part 10 of 10

A Few other Random Things

I was going to tell you all about my gardening attempts of this year but I don't have any pictures to help show off my efforts. So a brief 'story' will have to suffice.

Being able to play the piano, being able to knit, being able to paint/draw/sculpt, being able to cook gourmet style, being able to garden ... these are all things I would LOVE to be able to do and to do well ... if I had another life or two to live out ... perhaps some of these might become a reality. But, for the time being I have to be content just to potter around and do what I can and glean from others experience and willingness to come alongside and help me out.

Thus was my gardening adventure this year. My dear neighbour had oodles of extra tomato starter plants, so she plonked three in my little space along the fence (that our yards share) and I watered them. That was about it. I gave them water and once trimmed them up a bit, following the instructions of my dear neighbour. We got a great little harvest of cherry tomatoes that Renatah thoroughly enjoyed picking and 'testing' before discarding the remains.

I also planted some capsicum and chocolate cherry tomato plants in the back yard ... those didn't do too well. Out of sight - out of mind!!

Maybe one day with the right help and guidance I'll develop some gardening skills. One day ... one day!

Apart from that - the other thing we spent a lot of time doing this summer was walking to the park. They have a free lunch program all summer for kids ages 1-18 on week days. So at least once a week, when naps worked out in it's favor, we'd take a walk down to the park, have lunch and play a bit. It was a lovely filler in our day.

I don't have pictures of the tomatoes or the park - so here's a couple of random favourites from the summer instead.

Tait's first Vegemite Experience

Renatah's fascination with Bugs
Tait being a boy


Renatah playing with a puppy who won't run away and won't bite!

Now that Fall is well and truly here ... I'll tell you about our Summer

Part 9 of 10

Home Group Camp Out
Oxbow Park, Gresham Oregon

Our group - Our Church Family

Our home group had their 4th annual camp out in August. Unfortunately we had something come up to prevent us from actually camping - but - we had a great time hanging out with everyone for an afternoon/evening. This year we went back to the same place we were at the year before. It was fun to be 'back' to something familiar.


playing games ...

playing with friends ...

playing by our selves ...

playing with rocks ...

and snuggles with muma!
Our home community is going through a season of change and in thinking about it - this camping trip may very well have been our last. That's not such a happy thought!