Ode to the Man

One Man, so many skills. Of course with this upcoming "Day of Love," I've been thinking about Adam. I obviously don't think about him enough, because when I went to find pictures of him....I could not. I think the few pictures I've already posted of him are all we've taken this year. Sad. But in looking through them, I did come across some of the projects he's done. So instead of showing him off, I'll show off his projects.

This year I wanted to get the girls a doll house. When I mentioned it to Adam, he immediately said that he wanted to build it. So after many late nights and having to work with me, this is the finished project. We took it all the way to Wayan for Christmas and Adam set it all up for the girls to awaken to on Christmas morning. They love it and will always have a custom made dollhouse from their dad!

This fireplace/Theater room was for my parents. They had an old wood burning fireplace with a rock wall all around it. My mom has always wanted a gas fireplace so Adam volunteered. My step-dad wanted to keep the red brick bench, but Adam did all the rest. I think the crowning moment came when he installed the flat screen and set up surround sound. I know he can't wait for the day when he can do that in our house. My parents bought a new sectional to put in the room and it's a great place to cozy up and have a movie marathon. Forget going out!

On top of those projects, he's spent many hours on our house. All this work and I don't think he's even got a new tool out of it. We love you lots Adam and for more than just your skills. Thanks for always thinking of us and doing all you can to make us happy.

Dear....

These are Teigen times. Hallie loves to hold him and mother him, while Brynn loves to lay beside him and play.

Brynn sporting her new apron from Grandma Evarts on Christmas morning.

Hallie showing her lovely Ballet Arms. She loves to look pretty, act pretty and be pretty. Although she considers herself "fancy." She also fell in love with the Nativity story this Christmas. She got to be Mother Mary in the Christmas Play at Joyschool and fit the part perfectly.

Dear Blogging Universe:

Wow, after realizing that my last blogs' title was "Halloween Happenings," I've realized that life has got to move on. I have made attempts to update my blog since then; the first failed after staring at the computer for two hours and still drawing a blank...and the second attempt I actually came up with something to write, found just the right pictures and was 2 minutes away from posting it when I couldn't handle any more whiny demands from my impatient children. So, in disgust, I started clicking buttons as hard and loud as I could, slammed my laptop shut, stormed to my bedroom and locked my door. Only to realize that I threw a better tantrum than any of my kids could pull off and in the process, lost my precious post.

But tonight I am inspired once again. Thanks to my mother-in-law, and my good friend Sallie, I read a book this week which told a story entirely through letters. I thought it was clever and witty and a great way to get to know a person. Maybe if I take this approach I might get somewhere past Halloween.

Teigen is no longer a newborn. He is officially outgrown the itty-bitty clothes and weighs in over 12 pounds...but that was a month ago. He talks like crazy in a baby cooing sort of way and will smile at anyone that will pay attention to him. I think he has tagged Hallie as his favorite as she is the one that can make him laugh the most. Maybe it is because he looks almost exactly like her, minus the red hair, or just because deep down I honestly believe she thinks she is his mother. I'm not sure whether to attribute that to the "oldest child syndrome" or just her personality but she is all about playing mother, or "family" as she calls it. My favorite saying of hers right now is, "Dad, I'm just not into that." Adam has also been giving her ice-skating lessons and she is getting better each time. It might take a while though because there is usually figure skater's there practicing and her eyes are glued on them. She is now convinced that having graceful arms is way more important than actually standing up. She even does this whole pretty arm routine while lying on the ice. Brynn on the other hand uses her coordination to actually skate, although she would much prefer to go swimming. The place we go has a lazy river in it so she slips on her little floaties and then wants to be left alone bobbing in the water. She also is one that is not afraid to speak her mind. We blessed Teigen in December and afterwards had dinner at the house. She thought that was way too many people to invade her house at one time and kept telling people to "go away" and would not stop crying that they were eating "her hamy." (Brynn language adds a "y" at the end of every word.) If you can get past her intimidating glare though and find a soft spot in her heart, she flashes the most adorable grins.

Other interesting news...we were evacuated from our house due to a 42,000 gallon tank of fuel exploding and catching on fire at our backyard refinery. We picked out yellow curtains to hang in the kitchen. Adam loves the D.I. I do laundry on a regular basis, but can't figure out how to actually get it folded and put away. Adam loves the "as is" section at IKEA. I crashed the car once again into a non moving object. This Post will now end, although you feared it would go on and on and on.