A Quick Update

For those who haven't heard... We got a major surprise a few months ago.

Baby number 5 will be joining our family sometime at the end of May to the middle of June. There will be approximately 15 months between Caroline and the next baby. We are actually very excited about a new baby coming - it'll be a little stressful, but apparently, the Lord thinks I can handle it. I just wish He'd send me a preview of what He'd like for me to do for the rest of my life... so that I can approve of it - or at least have some sort of an idea what's going to happen!

It's PUMPKIN time!!!

Every year the children and I take a 20 minute drive south to Jefferson and purchase pumpkins. We pull our favorites off the pile, load them in the wagons, drag the wagons across the parking lot, pay for our pumpkins, drag them BACK across the parking lot and load them in the trunk of the car.

This year, we had two wagons and a wheelbarrow... fondly labeled "Pumpkin Barrow". Why do I make this drive to the Pumpkin Pile instead of going to the grocery store?

Economics.

Pumpkins at the grocery store are 18 cents per pound. Some of you are probably saying, "I wish I could get my pumpkins that cheaply!!!" On average, the pumpkins we purchase are a lot bigger than 1 pound. (We bought 13 pumpkins this year...) The rule at our house is that you have to be able to carry your own pumpkin across the parking lot (since that's usually the distance from the car to the carving location...). Margaret ALWAYS chooses a small one. Savannah ALWAYS chooses a large one that she ends up grumbling about because it gets heavier the farther she carries it...

LeGrand chose his pumpkin based on how heavy it was, Caroline is too small for a pumpkin.

Pumpkins at the Pumpkin Pile are $1.00 EACH. The big ones. The little ones. The medium sized ones. All $1.00 each. If figure that I average out to what I would pay for one big one at the grocery store.

And then... the pumpkins turn into Jack-O-Lanterns. I'll post those photos after we're done. These are destined to be carved this weekend. And if ALL of them get carved and there's not one left for pie, it's only $1.00 (plus fuel) to get another. I think I can handle that...

Our New Alarm Clock.

I'd like to take a few minutes to tell you about our newest alarm clock. He's two. And he's discovered freedom. And WE'VE discovered that he can't open the door INSIDE... So far, that's a very effective lock. Until, of course, he figures out how to open the door. Margaret was three and a half when she figured that out, we MIGHT have another year...

Saturday night, some very tired parents put an equally tired little boy into a toddler bed for the first time. Ever. At 6:30 in the AM, that same little boy woke up, realized that he could get out of his own bed, and that the door was open, and he came downstairs to find a MOM on the couch (he promptly woke her up by saying loudly, "MOM! I GET UP!") with a BABY, and a 4-year old sister on the chair (he promptly woke her up by sitting on her). Dad was next to be woken up - I'm sure because of the exploratory noises going on downstairs... and when we were all up and downstairs, same little boy looked around and noticed that an 8-year old sister was missing. "NANA! I go wake her up!" And off he went. The next thing we heard was, "BUD! Turn the light off!!!"

And so it was that we learned to keep the door closed so that our little alarm clock would stay in his own room.

Monday morning, we ALL slept until 7:30. He's getting later.....

Caroline at 7 months...

Already. It's already been 7 months. She's a LOT bigger now than she was then, and of all the girls, she seems to be on the go a lot faster. (I'd say of all the children, but LeGrand was climbing stairs at 5 months. Caroline can't do stairs, she's too short. Thank goodness.)

So... She may have started out small, but she's now pushing 20 pounds. She crawls all over the place, and when she comes to an obstacle that looks like it might be fun to stand next to, she does. She started pulling herself to a standing position BEFORE she started to crawl. It's a little disconcerting to see such a little person poking her face over the top of the cedar chest (because she can't quite see over the top... but she can peek!).

Mom is still her favorite person, but Margaret is the only one who can make her laugh. She loves LeGrand, lets Savannah hold her on occasion, and goes willingly to Andrew. She tolerates the Johnny Jump Up - but only when she can see me... and smiles ALMOST constantly.

Caroline and LeGrand seem to be in cahoots for trouble most of the time; one will distract me (Caroline) and the other (LeGrand) will find something he's not supposed to be in and see how long it takes me to catch him. He likes to help - last week I came into the kitchen after being in the bathroom and found LeGrand with a wooden spoon full of formula. He told me he was "Me feeding Baby, Mommy. I help you!" It would have been a bigger help for him to leave the formula on the counter rather than spoon feeding it to the baby...

I'll get some updated photos up soon, for now, enjoy these, taken two weeks ago! (As a side note, these photos were taken on 9/16 to get ready for a birthday... not mine.)

P.S. Don't the wood floors look FABULOUS?!?!?!?!?

My Birthday...

Was really a day like any other. I got home from work at 4 in the AM, went immediately to sleep; got up again at 5 in the AM to take care of Caroline, went back to sleep. Got up at 8:30 to start school; encouraged (read: raised my voice on occasion) the children (Savannah) to stay focused; took Margaret to Primary Activity Day; exercised patience with Savannah during the next few (4) hours to get her 1/2 hours worth of school work done; made dinner - a roast, which I completely forgot to season aside from cooking it in water... it was okay - sat down for dinner at 8 PM because the potatoes never did come to a boil- put children in bed, and left for work.

I am officially 36 years old. (20-16 if you really want to get down to brass tacks...) So far, the only difference I've noticed is the cake I had for dessert during lunch at work. That and Ian is 15 years away from being 40.

Really, it's not half bad.

For my birthday, Andrew is sending me to Time Out for Women in Portland. I am SO THRILLED!!! I've never been, and I'm really looking forward to it! YAY!

Oh yeah. I also ran over one of the kittens on my birthday. Twice. It didn't suffer at all. I wouldn't suffer either if someone ran over ME twice... well, maybe I would a little. The kitten didn't. It wasn't funny until Savannah told me that its name was Lucky... kinda ironic, don't ya think?

Cluster of Stahrs

And here you have it. The reason most of you read this blog anyway. An updated photo of the Stahr Children - and this time they're all together! If you want updates on what they're doing, keep reading. Otherwise - there are no other pictures in this post.

Savannah is 8 (she'll be 9 on November 16) and in the 3rd grade. She's on an accelerated track for Math (something about numbers just really clicks with her); studying about creatures in the sea for science (ask her the difference between nekton, benthos and plankton...). For history this year both Savannah and Margaret are studying US History (and truth be told, so am I...) with lots to read and learn - we'll spend two weeks focusing on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will figure prominently in learning as well. Savannah loves to read. Her favorite author is Beverly Cleary; she's read nearly all the "Ramona" books. We're focusing this year on writing also - it looks to be a good year for Savannah!

Margaret is 4. She started Kindergarten (although she told me in no uncertain terms that she's "not a garten" and nor is she a "Kinder!" I did have to differ with her on the kinder thing...) and is enthusiastic about learning to read. I was able to pick up Hooked on Phonics for free... (And was reminded of Nick's t-shirt "Huked on Fonix wurked 4 me") and she's loving learning. Margaret studies science with us as well as listening during history. It will be good for Savannah to have a little challenge this year.)

(Check us out HERE to see more pictures and school updates!)

LeGrand is 2. He loves all things Boy. He loves to help - he doesn't care who; loves to put wood in the woodstove when I'm not looking (one of these days he's going to find that it's hot...); loves Caroline, and is super happy most of the time. He's truly a joy to have around the house.

Caroline is 6.5 months. Who would have thought that starting out so small she would now be so large! Her favorite things to do are eat, sleep, poop, chew on anything she can get near her mouth, eat, drool, and occasionally barf on Mom. She is now an upright, and becoming very mobile. She crawls all over the place after toys, with her favorite being the kind that roll away from her just as she gets to them. She's a happy baby and we all adore her.

Not So Boring Church...

There's always something interesting about going to Fast and Testimony Meeting in the LDS Church. Little children bear testimony about how much they love their parents; people ramble about the spiritual experience they had visiting the Cysteine Chapel... We've had people get up and bear testimony for someone else... And then there was our ward on Sunday. And I missed it. We had three sick children, so I was home during one of the most interesting Sacrament Meetings in all of church history.

Andrew came home and told me that I would never believe what had happened during church Sunday. You just can't make this stuff up...

In our ward is a family with 8 children. One of their daughters got married yesterday. Apparently, it was a very spiritual experience for her sister's boyfriend. Today, during testimony meeting, he stood up and rambled on and on about how good the temple sealing was, and how great it was he was able to attend... Andrew tuned out. (I think many people did...) until he said the following words; "L, will you marry me?" And then it got very quiet in the chapel... then, "Well?" Finally, from the back of the room came the answer: "Yes." It's now the talk of the ward.

I can think of one other extremely inappropriate place to stage a proposal: SOMEONE ELSE'S WEDDING RECEPTION! Had it been me, I would have stood up and walked out of the room and not answered until the question was asked in a more appropriate and private location. While it makes for an incredibly interesting proposal story, it also goes down in history as one of her most embarrassing moments. (It would mine. Above and beyond wetting your pants in junior high, walking to work naked or anything else that could be deemed embarrassing!)

Sunday School was all about what is and is not appropriate to bear testimony about. Andrew's class was all about the time and place to propose - and these guys are just deacons! (Here's to hoping that they internalize that information...) I'm betting that our next meetings are all about testimony... Hope your meetings were this interesting!!!

FYI: The parents moved out of the ward... (a planned event BEFORE the fiasco at church), the entire family left after sacrament meeting was over. Not sure if that was planned or not... it certainly became planned after the proposal! Can't say as I blame them, either.

What About Jersey?

Margaret has this cute little mind that comes up with the most unique of things.

Last night as we were being home taught, we were talking about temples and their importance. Our home teacher was relating the message from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, and all of the children were listening intently. Bro. B stated how temples were for everyone... "not just in the United States; so it doesn't matter if you're from Russia or Mexico or Canada..." and at this point, Margaret very quietly says, "or New Jersey..."

The conversation stopped, and, since we hadn't heard her very well, we asked for clarification. "What did you say?" "I said New Jersey! What about New Jersey?!"

Even from New Jersey, Margaret. Temples are for everyone.

Mowing the Lawn

Mowing the lawn in Oregon isn't something that we do every week. More like every two weeks... or, when Andrew is less busy, every three days. It doesn't grow that much during the summer though since we don't water it. We water in the winter when it rains a lot. And then, we mow more. Odd, I know, but that's just the way it is.

A few weeks ago Andrew and LeGrand mowed the lawn together. I love seeing my family work together! LeGrand is a great helper when it comes to stacking wood, too!

Learning Balance...

This picture is a little blurry because just as I was snapping it, Caroline started falling. Her balance isn't perfect yet, but she's getting better! Right now, she's trying to add in her two cent's worth by reaching for the computer. It's an area that's still off limits. I just can't allow someone who lunges at everything as if it's food to do any typing. Caroline will be 6 months old next week; it's amazing how fast time flies! She's starting to be a little more vocal with everything, but still hasn't shown her gut laugh more than once. (Margaret was the recipient of that...)

Some of Caroline's favorite things are (not necessarily in order) Mom's finger. FOOD. Sleep. Clean diapers. LeGrand. She's learning to coordinate herself with the toys around also and is a great little top. (Meaning: she spins herself around to get whatever toys are out of her reach - it's not a tight circle, more the roundabout way of doing things, but it works for her!) She also likes chewing on her toes - mostly because she can do that in a sitting position too - her way of saying: "I've fallen over. No one is moving me. I'm going to make this look as if I MEANT to do it..." It works.

updated caroline photos...

Doesn't she have the cutest sister???

This is NOT something he learned from Mom...

I came around the corner to see LeGrand doing this... It is now HIS gallon of milk. He backwashes. He also likes milk.

Ode to BUD

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Two years ago you came into our life weighing 8 pounds, 11 ounces. If I had known the joy you would bring into our life, I probably would have scheduled the induction for a couple of weeks earlier so that you wouldn't be so huge.

Today, you crash the scales somewhere around 28 pounds. You're such a joy... and have such a marvelous smile through that thumb that is constantly in your mouth. You are such a good helper to "Baby" and your sisters adore you. (So does Mom.) I love how you want to give kisses to baby in the morning, and your wonderful hugs. And I even love that you're sitting on my lap waiting patiently for me to put the "Bear Bowling" game on the computer.

Your favorite things are trucks, "Ninnens" (kittens, for those who don't speak LeGrand), Ammon. CHEESE, and being as close to Mom as you can possibly get. All the time. I love you, Bud.

We're celebrating on Sunday, you'll all have to wait for cake pictures until then. Please.

The First Sunny Day

Really. It was FINALLY fantastic outside! We've waited all winter (and all spring that thought it was winter...) to have nice weather. And what did the children do?! They went swimming. In the Rubbermaid tote that the outside toys go in. Even LeGrand got in on the fun.

This IS my Mean Face...

Savannah had a Father/Daughter Activity for Achievement Days last week. The theme was a "Father-Daughter Hoe-Down". They did "Wanted" posters. This is the picture Savannah had on hers. I'm not sure how mean she looks - it just makes me laugh.

Andrew's New Blog...

Check out Andrew's Projects and what he's doing HERE! Please pass this blog address to your friends and family and anyone who might need some custom woodworking done.

He's got some amazing projects here; some that I'd love to keep... but I'd rather let someone else keep them!

I'll keep a link on the sidebar of our blog - please check back often for new things to buy and see.

Look What Crawled Out From Under the Deck!?!?!

Thank goodness it's not Snakes. You can see LeGrand is NOT thrilled about the kittens... at least he wasn't. Now he doesn't want to let them be. My guess is that these Kittens (who all have names now (Shadow, Toes, Socks, Fudge and Victor) are somewhere around 7-8 weeks old. They're starting to eat solid foods, and their Mom is starting to teach them to do other things. Like hunt. And kill mice. They'll be a great generation of mousers. We'll see how long they last - we quit counting the number of cats we've had around here after 20.

CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE

There's a LOT of cheese going on here. Margaret LOVES the camera, and can't wait for me to take her picture. (Not something I do as often as one would expect...) Caroline... well, I found this cute little hat, and I just love babies in hats. I couldn't resist. (And isn't Caroline getting some cute little fat rolls??!!)

I Only Laugh 'Cause She's Cute.

If she weren't so cute, it wouldn't be funny.

Caroline has a sense of humor. A good one. She decided that barfing down Mom's shirt (completely missed the shirt) was worth smiling over.

What could I do? I smiled back. Even though inside I was cringing.

Good thing baby barf doesn't trigger the sympathy barf that kid barf does.

What I did Last Weekend...

Last Friday, all full of energy, I decided to do a deep clean to my house. Doesn't it look clean? It was an all day event - thankfully, you're spared the "Before" shots. It wasn't pretty before I cleaned. Even the girls got involved dusting the baseboards... until I dusted the fans, and they discovered that the baseboards were filthy again. It was certainly a wake up call for the amount of dust that gathers when one burns two woodstoves in the house. And an event that will certainly happen more than once every other year. Enjoy the tour!

Welcome to the Sun Room. This is the "main" entrance to the house, and certainly the one that is the hardest to keep clean. After the Sun Room, you'll walk through the kitchen into the dining room, which then leads to the living room. (I put up new drapes and changed the furniture... it's a lot brighter now, and feels so much better.) The final picture is our music room - note the new bookshelves in the corner. Andrew built them. (Isn't he WONDERFUL? He's also for hire. If you need new bookshelves or built-ins, or anything built, he's pretty handy with a hammer...) The music room isn't quite finished - it needs a new coat of paint and some sheers in the window, and I'm still working on moving the books to the shelves (I found four unopened boxes of books the other day... I'll need the shelves for them! Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE books???)

I'm just glad to have a clean house... This week's resolution is to keep it that way... After all this cleaning, I went to the temple to clean there. I was reminded that there are still areas of my home that need some attention. You don't get pictures of those... :)