F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S

There are days in this life where you look down the road and think, oh heck, what on earth have I gotten myself into. Can I really do this? There has got to be an easier way. I have had a bit of a week like that. Tonight I was watching a movie about spelling bees. This is ironic as I am a horrible speller. Regardless, here is the quotation that inspired the main character and me tonight. May we all shine fabulously.


“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
-Marianne Williamson

Early Morning Jam

In the wee hours of the morning (sub 6a.m.), April and I awoke to the delightful sounds of music blasting outside our bedroom door. I guess Nate wanted to do a little serenade for us, and Elin joined in. Someday maybe we will know the meaning of "sleeping in". As for now, I'll take the serenade :)

Dress-Up...

This weekend we spent some time with our good friends Walter and Julie, where I was introduced to Wii for the first time. I'll have to say it was quite fun, and I was sore afterward. Elin, however, was introduced to playing "dress-up" for the first time (I suppose I've tried to avoid this one, but to no avail). This was the result when a couple of older girls got a hold of her in their room. Poor Nate, of course, was shut out and couldn't understand why. Elin just went along with it, and with outfit after outfit she would come down and "model" for all of us. I missed pics of a few of the outfits, but you can get the basic idea. A sign of things to come?...

Gone Bowlin'

We had a fun time this weekend at a local bowling joint. It was Elin's first time, and I think Nate's second (and April's third?). It was a big hit with the little ones, and the scores weren't too bad either- nothing to do, of course, with the bumper lanes.

Nate mostly did the granny rolls...

...but he ventured a few one-handed throws too.

Nate "willing" the ball to the right. Hey, we've all done it.

Flying? Whatever works.

"My turn yet?"

Elin couldn't get enough of the "magic" ball machine. She just about crawled into it.

Strike! Well, almost.

Look at this bunch- how lucky am I?

Just another day of bowling.

Creations and More

Elin got a hold of Sachi
Nate and his "packing snow" friend!

"I want go painting!"

Dad's Demographic Changes

So you know those categories on all the surveys etc. in the world? Well Jason can no longer check the 18 -34 box. Here are the pics of the fun on his big day. We had a "yummy" dinner of "Kahlua" pork (10 hours in a crock pot), mashed potatoes with butter and yummy carrots and cauliflower. I think everyone was in shock that we had a meal without flax seed or some other healthy grain.

Happy customers.

The cake!


The kids got Jason a cook book - what kind - what else CHOCOLATE! Look at that smile!

The Princess, The Crown and The Dino

I am laughing at Elin this week. She played with her friend this weekend who loves princesses. Then we went to church and she got a crown. Somehow the church lesson on Sunday was completely lost. The "child of God" crown is now a princess crown. She has worn it every evening and spins around for us and then she might even growl like a dino. Never quite sure who you are going to get. Here she is reading with Dad.

Nate the Helper!

One morning Jase explained to our kids that we had a lot to get done, and needed their help being good and finding things to do. Anyway, our son decided of his own accord to go and make all the beds. :) Yeah for Nate!

Two kids and fondue - !!!!?!?!???

It was a moment of insanity . . .

Christmas at the Cabin

Here's Part 2 of our Christmas pics, from our time at Mimi's cabin. We spent 3 days with Mimi, April's parents Janet and Zan, and sister Mary. It was a fun, care-free time and the kids had a lot of fun outside (at least Nate did, Elin's limit in the cold is 5-10 minutes). Thanks Mimi for a great time!

This is the lake Mimi's cabin sits on, currently a beatutiful winter wonderland.

And Mimi's cabin from the lakeside... picturesque!

April's family are big game-players. As you can see, Nate's catching onto checkers pretty quickly!

April and Mary playing Mancala. Mary was kicking all of our booties in this one, but I did manage to beat her one time!

Mary and Nate before our hike... note Nate is still smiling :)

Zan, Mary, Nate and I went for a 1.5 mile hike through the woods... this little trooper did a great job considering we were going through thick snow and up and down some hills.

Near the end he started getting a bit grumpy and tired, so he took a ride on my back a couple of times. Overall, great job Nate! Note Zan and Mary waiting for us in the background.

Lunch with the family! This was a tasty treat after the hike. Notice some of us kept our winter coats/hats on... we were close to the door which consistently let in arctic blasts of air.

One of the family's winter traditions at the cabin is building a sled run down the hill to the lake. This was our sled run (Zan and I put this one together), apparently humble compared to some past runs. It was tons of fun, though, way fast with a couple of unintended air-borne jumps. There were a couple of casualties, but overall it was great and the kids loved it (climbing back up was a different story).

This is a shot of the upper half of the run...

and this is part of the lower half (into the dark abyss!)

Nate flying down...

... and Elin with Mary. I sent Elin down once alone, but she would only ride with someone else after that (can't imagine why).

Nate truly has no fear, sometimes I have to instill a little in him. After several crashes he would just get up and go again... where does he get this from?

"Marshmellows roasting on an open fire..." I learned that I very much prefer s'mores with dark chocolate Hershey bars instead of milk chocolate.

I don't think Nate cares what kind of chocolate is on his.

Grandma Jan and the kids. Great to see you Grandma Jan!

Christmas Pics... Part 1

Here are a few pics from our holiday celebrations. We traveled to visit both of our families for Christmas, first to my side, then to April's. It was great to see everyone, and of course there were several fun parties and too much good food (oh, and presents). These pics are from my family's parties. Next post I'll put up some pics with April's family.

We spent Christmas Eve morning with my parents, sister, brother, and their kids. Here they are enjoying breakfast before the festivities begin.

Elin trying to take it all in- look at that cute face!

Nate got some cool garden tools- not sure why I didn't get a pic of the tools, I just got the box. Mom will be excited to have some help in the garden this year!

My Dad showing the little ones "how to do it". Somehow they always seem to congregate toward him.

My sister Shawn and brother Mike... great to see you guys!

With the first round over, now we're getting ready for the Christmas Eve Foreman party. Looking festive!

Here's the lay of my Grandma Foreman's Christmas Eve party. It was so good to see a lot of relatives I only see every couple of years- one of my favorite parts of the holidays.

The kids digging into their gift bags.

The cousins (minus Dylan) taking a well-deserved break.

"Bet you can't guess what I just ate!"

Simply lovely...

On our last day we had about 10 inches of snow... perfect for sledding! The kids loved it, and it was probably the most fun I've had in a long time. You're never too old to go sledding! About half-way through my Dad showed up in his suit and overcoat, just a tad over-dressed, but we were all glad he made it. Thanks Dad!

Poor Dylan did a face-plant in the snow after pushing off Nate and Elin. I felt bad for laughing, but the pic was perfect timing.

Just a bit chilly!

Mike and Dylan were tearing up the snow hill.

What a pair!

My Mom in her Russian winter hat getting all the kids on the toboggan. Love you, Mom! After sledding, we couldn't pass up hot chocolate at Caribou. So fun!