Happy Halloween!

This year Fall has flown into action, really without me knowing it. Right as Fall began we made the decision to move, so Fall decorations were put on hold. There has been no smell of Yankee Candles "Pumpkin Pie", no harvest-y colors filling the house, no pumpkins and no trips to the pumpkin patch, that was until Monday. Monday we were able to truly begin Fall. The SIX of us took a trip to the pumpkin patch and it being #1 two days before Halloween and #2 ABSOLUTELY FREEZING, we were the only ones there, it was AMAZING. This year we opted to paint out pumpkins, WOW, I must say it is way less mess, but not quite as rewarding. We have read The Pumpkin Gospel a trazillion times this week and the smell of Pumpkin Pie candles is filling my house. Halloween was fun, we attended a Harvest Party at Church the morning of and then hung out at Nick's aunt and uncles in the evening, they live in a high traffic neighborhood and we handed out candy to over 400 trick or treaters.

Busy life, constant changes

Life has been busy lately. I mean we are always *really* busy, we have a family with 4 kids five and under. But lately life has been even busier. Aidan is in Kindergarten, so in September we added daily homeschool time to our schedule, he plays soccer and Aidan and Coda are both involved in AWANA. On top of that we have been praying about making some major life changes. So here it goes, at the end of the month we will be moving back to Eureka. Nick is leaving his job with Advanced Security and will be working part time subcontracting for a communications company and the other time he will be studying like crazy for his C-7 Low Voltage Electrical License. After he obtains his license, which takes about three months, he will be completely self-employed. For the time being we will be living in Nick's grandmas house (she passed away about 3 years ago), it will be quite a challenge as it is quite small, but I look forward to meeting this challenge. We will also get to go back to our "home" Church, Eureka Nazarene and Nick will be leading worship there! All and all we are very excited about this next step in our lives.

Please keep us in your prayers!
P.S. We are still working on a business name and a few other details, when we have more info we will let everyone know. Who knows Nick might be able to fulfill your video surveillance or access control or communication needs!

Seven Months

Dillon is seven months old, seven months old, really?! YEP. He is sitting up all on his own, army crawling his way through the house and even eating a little something other than Mommy's Milk. Last week he ate boiled egg yolk mixed with a little Earth's Best baby cereal and loved it, he has continued to eat it daily. He is by far our longest and skinniest baby, he is about 17lbs and 27inches.

Happy Half Year....

DILLON!

We are so blessed to have you be a part of our family. Each day you bring joy to our lives. Your smile is contagious, you strength surpasses your age and you have the wondrous ability to warm each of our hearts!
I told Nick just last night that I don't want Dillon to get bigger, I want him to stay a baby forever. But then in the same breath, I told him how it will be so neat when all our four are riding bikes or playing soccer together.

Lord, I thank you for Dillon. I thank you for entrusting him to us. His smile warms my heart, his smell melts me, I love him more and more each day. I pray that you watch over him, I pray that he comes to know you at an early age. Lord, be with him wherever he goes, AMEN.

Fun at the fair.

Mommy and Dillon


So the boys wanted to go on a ride with Dad, so with Dillon already on my front, we added Téa to the back, boy did I get some funny looks!

Love the face Aidan!

We went to Santa Rosa for a week. We had a blast, the boys went to Dino Camp, Kristy and I tie dyed, we welcomed E home from Africa and had a great time with Grandma, Grandpa, Tyler and Sergio. However, like always I did not get done near what I wanted to while down there, I think it is a combination of having four kids, it taking an hour to drive anywhere and just having tons on my t0-do list.
We went to the county fair, which isn't too small for where we live and there was an awesome Rodeo. The boys enjoyed going on some rides. Dillon slept almost the whole time in the Ergo and Téa enjoyed pulling Daddy's hair from the backpack. It was a nice family day!

Three things.

#1 Aidan had a consultation with a surgeon for the repair of his hernia. We had been praying for healing and as of now, it looks like it is on its way to being healed. Please continue to pray for continued healing. We will go back in a few weeks to check the status.

#2 My sister is in Ghana, having a good time. She is half way through her study abroad. Yesterday I missed her so much, I actually called her cell phone (her US one) just to listen to her voice. Then I stayed up until 12:30am to call her on her African cell phone. It was good to laugh with her.

#3 We had a great time at Blue Slide Family Camp. Nick was the worship leader. We ate food cooked by someone else, swam in the river, basked in the sun, roasted marshmallows, watched fireworks and had a great time with friends from our Church in Eureka. (pictures to come)

Changing slowly.

For the past six months or so I have been on a mission to simplify mine and my families life and strive to attain a healthier family. My main task in simplifying has been decluttering - still have tons of junk, but less than we use to. To become healthier, I have been doing a lot of research and reading, one book imparticular has been Nourishing Traditions. As we run out of something, we are examining whether there is a better/healthier alternative. First we started using Whole Organic Cane Sugar, instead of white sugar, brown sugar or any other sweetener. We have also switched from using antiperspirant deodorant to using Burt's Bees Herbal Deodorant.

Although these changes are coming along slowly, I believe it is for the best. We are consciously making the decisions after a lot of research, guidance, thought and prayer. Making the changes slowly will hopefully inhibit the burnout factor. You all know what I am talking about...you jump into something full-force, it sounds neat, it is exciting and then you burn out. I am trying to avoid that :)

Bon Voyage

I have one sister. Samantha Marlene Rehe. She was born August 6, 1986. Honestly she bugged me while I was growing up...honestly she is my best friend now. Samantha has had and still has many names - here are a few, Sam-Bo, 'E', Sammie, Seester, Sam-wham-callahan, Chubby Cheeks.

'E' is growing up. Last Friday 'E' and Sergio were engaged (finally!) CONGRATS, HUGE CONGRATS. This Friday I said good-bye to my Seester. 'E' is going to Ghana for SEVEN weeks. She is studying at a University there. I look up to 'E', she has taken life on and she is winning. She is double - majoring in International Studies w/ a Focus on Africa and the Middle East AND English AND she is minoring in French. I mean seriously, who does that?!

So Seester, have fun, enjoy every minute, we will all be waiting for you to return, but please embrace your journey with and open mind and open arms. We love our 'E'!

P.S. Remember your mission :)

It's more than possible.

Camping with little ones that is. This past weekend we spent camping for 3 nights at Standish Hickey State Park. We had a blast. The trip consisted of 11 people, our family of six, plus my mom (Diane), my step-dad-to-be Mike, my step-brother-to-be Tyler, my Sister and my brother-in-law-to-be Sergio.
My family slept in the tent pictured above. The tent was recently purchased at Target. It was one of the best $120 we have spent. It is a two room tent, plus a screened front area. One side of the tent fit our Queen Size Air Mattress, which was for Nick, Dillon and I. The other side fit a make-shift bed for Aidan and Coda and Téa's Pack and Play. The screened front area housed our luggage and was a perfect spot for Dillon to hang out with a barrier between he and the bugs.

Some pointers for camping with little ones...
~Bring special 'camping' toys to keep them occupied and in the campsite during set-up/take-down time, meal preparation and down time. The Stomp Rocket was a hit with my kids. We got it from Costco.
~Before you leave realize that your kids will most likely abandon any type of 'schedule' they have while camping. ie. my kids goto be at 7pm and wake up at 6:30am, while camping they went to bed a tad later and got up at 5:30am since the sun was bright and shiny :)
~Pre-plan meals, it takes a lot of the guess work out of what everyone is going to eat and when, more time to have fun
~Check with the campground to find out if it is child-friendly. Is it a strenuous hike to the river? Are there areas of the campground or specific sites that are unsafe for children? If you are visiting a state park, the rangers are usually more than helpful and in the off chance you get a ranger that is a stinker, call again a few days later, you are likely to get someone else.

If you have any questions or comments about camping with little ones please ask/comment away :)

Here are some pictures of our trip and almost more importantly all the shirts I tie-dyed :)

Eating Organic Lollypops (thank you E and Serio)

Saturday @ the beach
Dillon chillin' on the beach

Sunday @ the beach Kristy, Greg, Luke and Peter came up to spend the day with us!

I can take credit for Nick's shirt, but not for Kristy's sweatshirt

E in her tie-dye

'E' and Sergio

Aidan "fishing"

Téa digging into a huge bag of chips

And the face we have all been trying to get on camera...

Family Day at the Beach

First off I have to tell you a story...you all know I have been in need of a camera, well I told my friends online. Well yesterday I went to my mailbox and there was a package. I didn't recogonize the return name nor address. But it was addressed to me, so I opened and inside was a DIGITAL CAMERA. I was in awe, I read the note and it all came clear. My friend Jen in Oregon told her mom in Arizona that I was in need and her mom and dad sent me their not-in-use-anymore camera. How amazing, I am so thankful for my friends. THANK YOU JEN AND JEN'S MOM AND DAD!!! So back into the world of me taking pictures everywhere we go...

Nick building a bench?

The Boys Sitting on the Sand Bench

Ummmmm, beautiful!

Téa and Mommy

P.S. Don't mind the wrong date, I was so anxious to use the camera I didn't do the set-up!