Our Busy Bee

This little guy is BUSY! Beege and I think he is our busiest one. I didn't use playpens at this age with most of our boys...we have two set up in our home right now. Although exhausting at times, BJ and I get a lot of joy out of watching busy Jud run from here to there, touching, opening, and looking at everything. He is a lot of fun. He has a new expression for pictures when you tell him, "say cheeeese!" A few days ago I caught him running around with the boys' toothpaste. Yuck! I know it is not good for him to eat the stuff, but it was a little funny. That night Justin was so impressed with how clean their toothpaste container was and asked if I cleaned it. I reminded him that Jud took care of that earlier. Justin was a little grossed out with that cleaning method!

Double Digits!!!

My firstborn is 10 years old now. Jared has been the trailblazer in so many ways. He introduced us to this world of parenting...a decade ago! When I think back to being a new mommy at age 24, I realize how young I was. But I wouldn't change a thing. I believe the Lord considers children to be a blessing and he uses our children to refine us. Each of my children have added so much to my life and to the person I am today.

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A few of Jared's favorites at age 10 include: saving money, making money (if you are ever over, he will try to sell you bubblegum), legos, reading and telling about facts, babies (we know he will be a tremendous help with the twins), bike riding, music (he loves Fir Elise), and swimming.

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Jared, we are so thankful that the Lord gave you to us. We know that you are developing into the fine man of God that the Lord has called you to be. It is obvious to us that Godly characteristics are growing in your life and we are excited to see His plan for you unfold.

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Here are a few celebration pictures....

Mommy celebrated a double digit birthday as well. :) On the evening of the 11th we had the family party celebrating Uncle Rick, Brady, Jared, and my birthdays. I didn't realize I looked this short next to Brady until I saw this pic! Gotta love those tall genes.Per Jared's request, Bingo was played and enjoyed by all...especially Aunt Alison. Great times!
The prizes Sally wraps up for our "bingos" are a lot of fun. (I really should post later about one of the prizes Jesse won.)


The next evening John and Sally took us out to dinner and came back to our house for gifts.

Happy Birthday Jared!

How organic of me

One of my goals for 2011 was to research and use at least two new herbs this year. Can you believe it is only March and I have already tried one? Sure it is only tea, but you've gotta start somewhere! I had read that red raspberry leaf tea is good for the uterus and female reproductive system. In an article from Above Rubies, a woman having had 9 c-sections recommended this tea because of its uterus strengthening properties. I thought it couldn't hurt to try. A bonus is that this iced tea is delicious...with a little bit of not-so-organic sugar added. :)

tv dinner night

Another activity the boys and I did while daddy and Jared were gone was "tv dinner night." As a child, I remember it being a real treat to eat a tv dinner on a tv tray and watch tv. We did this a couple of times a few boys ago and thought we were due to try it again. The boys thoroughly enjoyed it...and I enjoyed watching them! I've gotta say, however, now that I am grown-up, tv dinners are a little gross! :)

Zoo Day!

Last week BJ and Jared drove to Sacramento for the COG West Coast Minister's Meeting. I was sad to be left behind, but had a good time with the remaining four boys. On Tuesday I met my sister and her three girls at the Portland Zoo. The forecast predicted rain, but we decided to brave the weather anyway. We were so glad we did...no rain and even a little sunshine here and there!

Our children have a great time together. As soon as we met up Justin and Esther were holding hands. I overheard Esther say "let's sing Here comes the Bride." Justin responded with, "no Esther, that would be embarrassing!" They have been married many times, but only with close family around. :)
Judson Lee was fascinated by the polar bears. He kept pointing and squealing.

Overall we spent 5 1/2 hours at the zoo! I have never been to one for that long! But we must remember that everything takes longer with little ones...taking turns assisting with potty times, changing diapers, lunch, loading and unloading our strollers. BJ and Isaac would have gone crazy! Actually, with them along, we wouldn't have been nearly so slow. Why is that always the case? It must just be us George girls. :)

Jesse really got into taking pictures of all the animals. I have about 15 pics of every one!

I gotta say, my Jessers was a huge help. I don't know what I would have done without him. He helped push the stroller, keep track of the little ones, and told us where to go next with his handy little map. Amy had just commented on how my older boys were reminding her more and more of BJ when Jesse called out, "well, according to the map we need to go this way. Let's go." I thought, my goodness he is just like my hubby! :) I was also proud to watch Jesse give up his spot for his younger brothers and encourage them to do right.

Usually one zoo trip a year is enough for me, but I had such a good time I might try to make two trips this year. :)

Our entertainment

Without regular television, we get to be creative about our entertainment. Here we are watching a totally cool video made by my totally cool brother-in-law announcing #4 is on the way! We are all totally excited. :)

Erika's shower

About a month ago I was able to attend my friend Erika's baby shower. I am really late at posting this because she just gave birth to her beautiful little girl a couple of days ago. :) I had so much fun seeing her and our other college friends again. Where have the years gone? We all agreed to still feeling like we are in our twenties...just playing "grown-ups" now. :) Life keeps us from seeing each other very often, but it is nice to be able pick up where we left off when visits do happen.

Blessings on you Erika and your sweet family!

Fun with Grandma

Last week my mom and Ray came up for a little visit. We had a great time with them. On Wednesday we went out to dinner at Shari's (we have hardly any restaurants in town). We were in luck since Wednesday is free pie day! The boys now want to eat there every Wednesday. Ha!

I was really impressed with my mom's hot wheels playing ability. She helped them set up and organize those cars a few different times!
BTW- I feel like our hot wheels collections is so huge thanks to my hubby. Every time we pass them in a store he finds another one that needs to be added to the collection! Maybe it is a guy thing, because personally, they all kind of look the same to me. :)

Schooling cowboys

Can you tell where we were going after a few hours of school? I love to see how boys play "dress-up!"

Jared prefers comfort over snug Wranglers!

Horsing around...

My little cowboys got a chance to ride again. Mr. Wilhite has taught our boys a lot about horses. Jared and Jesse are helping to train the pony....our boys were the first to ever ride him. He is getting the hang of it more and more...and so are the boys!

Future cowboy in his 1T Wranglers. :) J.R. likes it when daddy goes faster. Justin, not so much.

Judson seemed very non-chalant about the hairy animal.

Jared was really good at riding the pony. In this picture you can see the horse was fighting him. Jared seemed up for the challenge but was ready for a break after being bucked around a little bit. :)