Presenting...

My Halloween Babies

After several hours at the sewing machine, a couple trips to the fabric and craft store, 5 chicken hat attempts, a few tears while dressing the chicken and a little face paint... Halloween arrived. It would have arrived without all that - but it sure made it a lot more fun.


So yes. You've probably figured it out by now. We do Halloween. And we like it. A lot. I love the creativity of it. The community feeling. Meeting neighbors. Visiting family. The gobs of candy. The excitement and anticipation. We don't do the Halloween alternatives. Nothing against 'em - we just like trick-or-treating. We choose to steer clear of the scary-ish stuff - and it all works out quite nicely.

Originally, we had planned on trick-or-treating around our neighborhood then going to my grandma's house. But after my mom's obvious disappointment at not being able to see her grandchildren dressed up - and thinking Steele might be disappointed if he didn't get to see Abbey and Gabe - we decided to rearrange things a bit. So this year, Halloween 2008 started out with a visit to my my mom's annual neighborhood Halloween party. For the last few years she's planned a little trick-or-treating prefunk for all the neighborhood kids. She makes hot dogs, puts out some chips, apples, juice - all the kids get to see each others costumes... and then, about an hour later, everyone leaves. It works out great. I was glad we were able to make it again this year.

Aunt Abbey the leopard, Uncle Gabe the chess king
Adia the chicken and Steele the scarecrow

Then we drove over to my grandma's house to say hello and visit some of the people that live in her retirement neighborhood. While there my grandma expressed, once again, her dismay at all the people in her neighborhood who turn off their lights to trick-or-treaters. Party poopers she says.

Mee Mee, Steele and Adia Moon

And finally, after all that, we headed back to our house for some local candy collecting. We were a little late getting home and weren't sure we should still go out but decided to make a go of it. Even though I think we'll go back to our pre-grandma trick-or-treating schedule next year - I did learn that door answerers get more generous in their candy giving as the night goes on. As they realize their candy bowls are still overflowing and their desire to keep their waistlines in check increases - they start handing out candy 3 and 4 pieces at a time. It made up a bit for our late start.

On the Halloween Trail

Once home, our theory is to pretty much let the kids pig out on all the candy they want, brush their teeth really well and then put the rest away for special treats later. (yes, even Adia Moon. Steele barely had even a taste of sugar before he was two) I worked in a dentist office for several years and one of the dentists there told me this is probably the wisest candy consumption option. Plus, I'm just not one to deprive my children of piggin' out 'till they puke on Halloween night. It's half the fun of it.

Even frogger got in on a little candy action

Before everyone crashed for the night - 0ur dog Finney fit in time for some crow guarding.
It's serious business, you know.

Hope you all had a fantastically fun night! We sure did.

Getting Ready

Focus

I'm feeling the need to focus - on the Lord, on my husband, on my children. Perhaps a little self-examination. I want to pull the things I love close to me. I want to thin out the excess so that what's important can grow strong and useful and beautiful.

Praying earnestly for direction and timing.

Scenes From Grandma Nadene's 80th Birthday

Playing Papa

For the last few weeks Steele has been carrying his stuffed frog around (aptly named... Frogger) taking care of him. He feeds him, rocks him, diapers him, changes his clothes. Frogger disobeys, is reprimanded and disciplined. Steele and frogger even have full on conversations. Tonight at dinner I even found out a new little fact about frogger - he's going to be two in January. Hm. I did not know that.

The other day before Steele went down for his afternoon nap, he grabbed some dishtowels from the kitchen. When I asked Steele what they were for, he told me that Frogger needed a blanket. While Steele was sleeping I decided I would sew a little blanket and pillow for Frogger. I found some flannel in my sewing pile and quickly made them up. Then I took them downstairs and positioned Frogger with them so Steele would be surprised when he woke up.

On a side note - I was relaying to Justin as I was sewing, that there is nothing that makes me feel quite like a mama more than preparing special treats and surprises for my children. It's something my mom did for me and something I love doing for my own children. I think it was the first time I had ever sewn anything for Steele - and the first time I had sewn anything in a while - I loved it.

Anyway, so the other night Steele woke up at 2 am to go to the bathroom (the boy no longer wears pull-ups!). Justin got up with him to "direct things" and then carried Steele into his bedroom to tuck him back in. As Justin was pulling the covers up Steele made sure that he didn't cover Frogger up too - you know, since he has his own blanket and all. And then, in the dark, Justin heard Steele's sweet little voice: Oh Frogger...you're getting to be such a big boy. How am I going to carry you around?

How adorable is that?!?!?!


*No stuffed frogs were injured in the posting of this blog. The tape pictured above is Japanese therapeutic tape administered by our friendly neighborhood chiropractor.

Chicken Catchin'

Yesterday afternoon I put the chickens out to poke around in the front yard a bit. When I went to teach Jazzercise I left them out - Steele and Justin were out working in the yard. When I got home, Justin relayed this little story to me:

As it was getting time to go in, Justin mentioned to Steele that they needed to catch the chickens and put them back in their coop. Steele piped up and said, "I can do it Papa." So Justin says, "Sure, go ahead," thinking that he probably wouldn't be able to do it - especially since they can be quick little buggers. But much to his surprise - Steele did it!! He caught not just one, but two! of the chickens.

After Justin told me the story, I decided that today I would put the chickens out and when it was time to bring them in I would video tape Steele trying to catch them. The videos that follow, as you'll soon be able to hear, catch my sheer joy and amusement as I watched my new little chicken catcher for the first time. I hope you get a kick out of it too. Unfortunately, it also catches my dog barking incessantly from the back door as he watched the action. He gets a little hyped up over the chickens. You'll also see a fine example of Steele's renowned first time obedience at the very end. (and mama attempting a ridiculously snazzy end to the video) It's real life here folks.

Did you notice Steele gave the chicken a kiss on his way to the coop?

Earlier today, as I thought about what I was going to write in this post, I thought I would say something catchy at the end like: At least we're catching some sort of chickens around here.

But tonight as I sent Steele off to bed, I noticed approximately 5 suspicious looking red dots on his face.

Looks like we may have the pox folks!

Hip-Tastic

Rose hips that is.

Justin, my crafty little hubby (did I really just type crafty and Justin in the same sentence?) anyway... ahem.... Justin, my crafty little hubby, has been making these great rose hip wreathes for the past couple weeks.


He starts early in the fall - scouting out his patches - then he goes out and cuts down the rose hip branches at just the right time, brings them home and makes them. The other day he took both Steele and Adia with him. Adia on his back in the pack - Steele "cutting" right along side with his styrofoam sword. It's a pretty funny sight since the patches tend to grow out along country roads. This year, unusually, he's had two cops and a wedding coordinator stop and question what he was doing.....

This past weekend, our town was hosting a harvest festival and a craft and antique show...

*Attention! Attention!*

I interrupt this sentence to add that Justin wants me to be sure and tell you that he got up at 5 am this morning, put on his stocking cap and went outside to make wreathes. "Now that's dedication. Did you put that in your blog?" His words, not mine. Although I don't disagree.

ok.... back to the craft and antique show. Craft and antique show going on. Lots of crafty ladies who want to spend money are driving by. So Justin put a sign out by the road with some wreathes on it and arrows directing them to our house. And guess how many he sold???

TEN!!

In one day. And today he sold another one! At $20 bucks a pop and no overhead besides gas -that's not too shabby!


You should have seen those crafty old ladies clamor for them when they found out my cute husband made them. I thought about laying it on thick and telling them that he's a firefighter and that we're trying to raise money to bring home a little Ethiopian baby...... but that was a little too sappy - even for me.

The cutest thing is that lately, when Steele climbs into our bed in the morning, instead of asking if he and Justin are going to do their usual "blowering" "mowering" or "trimmering" he says, "What are we gonna do today Papa? Let's go do wose hips." It's pretty cute.

What I've Been Reading

And actually using for once! (Remember, I read cookbooks like novels)



For one, I just love the feel of this book. It feels good to hold it and smell it and flip through the pages. I know, I'm a weirdo. I read about it on a blog somewhere and couldn't resist buying it when I saw it for 20% off at a grocery store the other day. (Tip: You can get it on cooks.com for $19.99)

So far, I've made two recipes out of it:

Plain white bread - which I again failed at. Not for lack of a good recipe. I don't know if I've shared with you my years-long battle with trying to bake bread - but I cannot for the life of me get it right. I am good at many things. Yes, read good - I actually pride myself in being able to do a lot of things o.k. - not great. I have a little bit of knowledge about a lot of things. I kind of like it that way. I sew a bit. I knit a bit. I would say I am a fairly good cook. My house is adequately decorated. I bake delicious pies, crisps, you name it. I made to-die-for applesauce the other day (ok, apple sauce is no fail, but still... I made it) But I CANNOT BAKE BREAD. I'm getting better. I generally do not have enough motivation to stick with things very long (which is why I'm only good, not great, at things) but I'm stickin' with this bread thing. I'm convinced it'd be better for my family if I could just get it right. But anyway, this is turning out to be a longer post than I ever intended.

Spaghettti Bolognese - we're not big into Italian food around here. Not that we dislike Italian food, it's just not our favorites and we're not really into pasta that much. But I happened to have all the ingredients on hand for this and it sounded yummy. So I made it, and it was. Yummy, that is.

I'll keep you posted on any further recipes from it.

One of my Jazzercise ladies also passed this cookbook on to me:


She had bought it to use with her granddaughters but it turns out they were way pickier than she ever could have imagined. So she gave it to me. I've been a little intrigued by it with all the controversy surrounding it. Kate also mentioned it a while back and I thought it would be good to give it a try. I haven't made anything from it yet but I scanned all the recipes and they look delish.

What I've been listening to:

and loving.

Priscilla Ahn

I'm pretty sure Amy told me about hearing her on someone's blog so I decided to buy the album. Love it. The first song on the album, Dream, is my new life theme song.

What I've Been Watching:

DWTS
Ugly Betty
Biggest Loser (a bit)
Grey's Anatomy

I'm having a hard time feeling really excited about DWTS this season. I'm trying to remember if this is how I feel at the beginning of every new seaon....

I'm loving and hating Grey's all at the same time. I may have to start turning it off pretty soon.... we'll see.

Anyone watching Survivor? How's it goin?

What I've Been Making: Place mats out of some cute oilcloth I bought at the Greenhouse. Sorry, I'm too lazy right now to take pictures.

What We're Up To This Week:

Justin's been off for a week and doesn't go back to work again until Friday. He's been busy doing some crafting of his own and selling quite of few of his creations. More on that later.

Besides the usual, here's a glimpse of what our week looks like.

Monday: One Day Sale at Jazzercise. I'll probably be there most of the day tomorrow. I really, really, really need it to be at least semi-successful.

Tuesday: Story time at the library. The usual highlight of our week.

Thursday: Day 11 of a 10-14 day chicken pox incubation period. Hopefully we'll know by then if we've got it. Also, another chiropractor appointment. I'm seriously beginning to think he is a miracle worker. He pretty much rocks.

Saturday: Dinner with Justin's firehouse crew at the Melting Pot - a sort of celebration/farewell for Justin's lieutenant since he just got promoted. I'm in a bit of a quandary over what to wear. Any ideas? I need help here people.

I feel like I have so much to catch up on - but this post has been sitting as a draft for several days now. I better just hit publish and be done with it.

Chicken Pox Update

Go Here.

Pumpkin Patch

I've gotten a little spoiled with Justin's job. He often has days off during the week so we rarely have to go places on the busy days. Grocery shopping, the library, the mall, COSTCO! Saturday was such a beautifully sunny day though, so despite my annoyance at feeling like one of the "masses", we decided to go to the pumpkin patch. I searched on-line for nearby pumpkin patches - we considered hopping on a ferry and heading to Oak Harbor for something a little different. In the end, though, we settled on our own Stoney Ridge farm. It's beautiful and quaint... and since I've decided that I don't need to grumble about the fact that they charge for every. stinkin. little. thing. - I'll let pictures say the rest.

We were hoping to get a good family picture for the front of our new adoption profile - unfortunately I'm not certain I like any of these well enough. I'm finding it is near impossible to get both my children to smile at the same time. And Miss Adia... well, she is generally a pretty obedient little girl but she will not look at me for a picture! If she does happen to look at me, she'll rarely give me a smile. Little stinker.

Fair Trade

Tonight, we loaded our kids up in the car and headed over to Mark and Stacy's house for a little fair trade.

I brought over some yummy apple crisp and ice cream which we all enjoyed.

In return, they were generous enough to share their chicken pox with us.

Quiche Anyone?

Egg Check. Egg Check. Test 1. 2.

Double Dog Dare

Egg Check. Egg Check. Check Egg. Test. Test.

Chicken Bluff.

After this one I found another one!
TWO in ONE day!
I was screaming and jumping around like I was Charlie with the golden ticket.

All In A Day's Work

This is the kind of stuff I do....

Phone rings...

Me: Hello?

Other person: Hi, is Justin Jobes there please?

Me: He's not available right now. May I please take a message?

Other person: No, we'll call back. (hastily trying to get off phone)

Me: Um, no. May I ask who's calling please?

Other person: I'm calling from the Barack Obama campaign.

Me: Oh, well there's no need to call this household back.

Other person: (sounding miffed) Well, actually...

And she hangs up.

So you know what I do?

Star six nined her.

Called back and spoke to another very gracious woman and told her that I did not mind people calling our home (which is not completely true - but if they do call I usually don't mind as long as they are polite) anyway.. told her I don't mind them calling but that the person that called was rude to me. I explained the conversation to her and she said she would find out who it was and give her some further "training."

This nice "older" woman (as she described herself) then said to me: You know, it was probably some young 19 year old who wanted to volunteer to campaign for us and didn't know what to say.

And you know what I wanted to say to her?: Yah, well, my 3 year old knows how to be more respectful to adults than that young lady was. It's probably because I hold him accountable for his actions. I train him about how to behave properly and if he does not, he receives a swift consequence so that the next time he behaves improperly he remembers and it motivates him not to do it again. It makes our family life and our relationship so much more enjoyable. You know, when everybody's held accountable for their own actions everyone's a whole lot happier. It gives him good "self-esteem" to know he's a loving and joyful contributor to our family. People feel good about themselves when they do a good job, work hard to accomplish something and are generous and kind - not when they're spoon fed and coddled. That makes them feel worse about themselves and gives them no self-worth. People feel good about themselves when they make bad choices, repent, are forgiven and then choose something better. Helping people do all of this is what real love is.

I didn't say that. But I wanted to.

Train your children young. Take responsibility for them. In your own home. Dont' leave it up to somebody else to do it. Don't expect somebody else to do it. Don't legislate somebody else to do it.

They'll have a much more positive impact on their families and on society.

Not like the young girl I spoke with on the phone.

Too bad I have so much self control. I'm humble too.


Man I'm feelin' feisty lately.....

Get Along, Little Dogies

Tonight, instead of watching the debate, Justin and I decided it would be better use of our time to take the kids to see Hank Cramer sing at the library. He sang cowboy songs (which, he explained, are different than country songs) until my heart melted. Steele watched in awe as Hank belted out heart warming songs about the work of the strong men of our history. Strong men, the likes of which, settled this beautiful land we live in.

As I sat there I couldn't help but think to myself, "I wonder who the cowboys are voting for?".........



*If you're a Washingtonian - Hank is playing at most of the libraries around the state this fall. His schedule is on his web site. Definitely an enjoyable evening.

Why?

Does Janie and Jack always do this to me???

Every year they come out with the most adorable fire engine themed holiday clothes. I'm pretty good at finding good deals on kids clothes. But fire engines?? I can never resist. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, my mother-in-law finds them first and she can never resist either.

Read, Read, Read

Before Justin and I ever had kids we decided we wanted to home school. We began our parenting journey with this mind set. When Steele was just a baby, I remember talking with a home schooling friend of mine. There was one thing she said to me that continually repeats itself in my brain - she said, "When they're little - just read, read, read to them." And we have. And it's working. At any given moment in our home, I could find either Steele or Adia sitting quietly flipping through the pages of a book. It brings my heart joy and I often find myself tiptoeing away so as not to distract them.

Without going off on too much of a tangent - I will say that reading to them has helped train them in so many areas beyond just learning. The most notable area has been their ability to sit still and focus on something. Each night before bed Justin sits with Steele and Adia and reads them stories. During this time, Justin has trained each of them to sit still, to be quiet when he's reading, to not grab at the pages... it has helped us immensely in church, especially. We attend a church where families worship together - our children sit with us in the pew (most of the time) for the entire service. Lately, both Steele and Adia have been able to do this. They have been able to keep their hands to themselves while we're singing - instead of grabbing at the hymnals. I can hold my bulletin in my hand and have them on my lap and they won't attempt to grab at it and tear it up. They will sit quietly (more often lately) and draw or "take notes" while our pastor is preaching. For the most part, they know how to sit and listen without talking. Now, they are not perfect by any means. Sometimes, like this last week, they are tired and squirrely (as were their parents) from being out too late the night before at our friends' house and so we take them to the nursery during the sermon - but they are making steady progress. And this means I get to sit through the service. That is, until the next baby arrives....

But anyway, back to reading. While we do spend some time doing other types of schooling - reading, sharing quiet moments together on the couch, talking about the stories we have read, reading stories that teach new vocabulary and new concepts is one of my favorite things to do with my children. As it is for many of you, I know.

Being previously fairly unfamiliar with children's books, I am so happy to have found a wonderful resource: Picture Book Preschool. I was first directed to it from the Preschoolers and Peace web site (tons of great resources there too) and have used it continually. I noticed you can e-mail the author directly for a copy - or you can purchase it here too. We don't often go by the exact week listed in the book, or work on the topics it recommends (we may in the future) but through it I have found so many wonderful books that I might never have picked out at the library on my own. Every few weeks I'll go to my library's web site and place requests on the books from a couple weeks' worth of Picture Book Preschool's book lists. I am never disappointed. So I thought I would share it with you if you haven't already heard of it.

Happy Reading!


Quick Adoption Update: I spoke with our agency director on Sunday and she was so excited, as are we obviously, for us to begin the process of adopting from Ethiopia. We went over a few preliminary things. She is leaving in a week to spend two weeks in Ethiopia. I wanted to say to her, "Can't you just bring us a baby when you come home?" Wouldn't that be great? But we can't - there are about a bazillion steps to take before that happens. And so we start, one step at at time. One dollar at at time. And that's how we're choosing to look at it. What's that they say... a journey of a thousand miles? Works the same way with dollars. ;-) And in case you're wondering, we are still going to complete our domestic home study update. We would love to bring a baby home in the next few months and then travel to Ethiopia a year from now to bring home another baby. And in case you're really wondering - the answer to the question that might be going through your heads - the answer to the question we get all the time: We don't put a cap on it. We'll take however many the Lord brings.

I already have fund raising ideas swimming around in my head. I'm thinking Salsa dancing, Mexican food, benefit night? Anyone up for it? I'll work on the salsa dancing. Justin's working on the leaf blowing side jobs.

Friday Night Football

In 1999, Justin and I met at my high school's homecoming football game. It was the first one I had been back to since I graduated in 1994. Justin was working with the youth group at the local baptist church and had a friend who was a young life leader at my high school. You know how YL leaders are - they're always hanging out with "their kids." So this guy, Adam, invited Justin to go along with him. And since I knew Adam was going to hang out with "his kids" I went too. Justin and I met that night and 11 months later we got married.

So every year, we head back to the 'ol football game to reminisce, drink some hot chocolate, eat some popcorn, feel the drums of the band through our bleacher seats and glory in the comments from my old teachers about how I don't look any different than when I was in high school. Ok, so that only happened this year. And it was only one teacher. But it was momentous. Thank you Mr. Wark. My geometry teacher. You'll see his blue and white umbrella in one of the following videos.

We had a great time this year. The kids loved it. I thought the band did a great job. We didn't stay for the whole game but in the end, our team won. They haven't lost a game on the home field since 2003. Not too shabby. We're also the home of Jake Locker - Husky football's QB. Look at me - listin' off the stats like we're big football fans or something. We're not - the extent of our sports watching at home is the Tour de France.

I hesitated to post the last video. We do, after all, have some adoption home studies coming up. You never know what kind of dirt they'll try and scrape up. After watching it for the first time, the thought honestly crossed my mind, "People actually choose to give their babies to us?" We're crazies I tell ya. All of us. Crazies.

Indulge me here - I get a kick out of posting videos for some reason.
I've titled them to further enhance your viewing experience.

Skinny Jeans

Eagle Pride Inside

Old School

We Like Roundabouts

Justin had no idea I was filming until after the fact.
I have no excuse for my own behavior.

Isaiah 48:17

This is what the LORD says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
"I am the LORD your God,
who teaches you what is best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go.


As I've mentioned before, one of the most exciting things for me about adopting children is being able to have the honor and privilege of witnessing God's plan unfold for our children and for us. Maybe some day I will document here the unique stories both Steele and Adia have.

In one of my recent posts, you may have glazed over the fact that our agency is now doing adoptions of children from Ethiopia. Don't worry if you did - because I pretty much brushed over that fact too. Until I got a little nudge to visit their web site last night. And it seems the Lord may have just rung the bell of a new door in our lives.

Now, can I just tell you how much I love my husband and love being married to him? You see, I wasn't one bit hesitant to share with him this morning about this little leap my heart felt last night as I read the pages of the web site. I know that we are in complete agreement about all of this (we agree about pretty much all things, actually - except for maybe where the kids' dirty clothes should go after they play outside but that's a different topic.... we all have those topics don't we? Keeps us humble...) Anyway - here's what we agree on:

• God is the One who plans our family, not us. So it is not up to us to push open doors.... or to close them based on our own fears or inability.

Umm.... I was going to write more but that pretty much sums it up. What it means is that even when I told Justin how much it would cost, he didn't freak out. He knows that God makes a way for His plans to happen - He could give us the money through some long lost rich relative if He wanted.... or He could give us the diligence and wisdom to save the money ourselves.... He could give us the knowledge and blessing of applying for and receiving grants etc. etc. Justin also didn't say to me, "Well, we really should pray about this more." He knows what God's word says about caring for the orphan and the widow. We agree that we're pretty sure if we stood before the Lord and asked Him if we should adopt a child that He probably wouldn't say "no." Pretty sure about that one. "Um, Lord. So tell me - what do you really think about us taking a baby from a poverty-stricken land with no mama or papa to care for him into our home and giving Him a new hope and a new heritage of faith? The truth, here, God."

You get the picture. I'm not trying, in any way, to make light of it. My point is that if the question is there in your heart, "Should I?" You probably should.

We love our adoption agency. We don't and haven't had any desire to go to another agency. We whole-heartedly support the manner in which YWAM's agency is placing children for adoption and taking care of birth mothers. This is part of what makes this Ethiopia thing so cool. New doors are being opened right in front of us. Why not just jump into what God is already doing?

And we are going to pray - not "should we?" But when? how? Lead us Lord. For your glory. We wait with joyful anticipation at what You will do. We are satisfied with Your plans alone.

So would you, my bloggy friends, join with us in these prayers? That you might have the joy and privilege, with us, of watching God's plans unfold before our very eyes.

If You So Desire...

Some of you who are a little more politically adept might enjoy perusing my friend Rachel's blog. I very purposely avoid any political discussion here - I try to avoid trends and you know, everybody's doing it these days. You'd think there was an election fast approaching or something. But I couldn't resist myself today. If you scroll through the comments from her Oct. 1 post you can read for yourself. I don't have the energy or desire to get into a huge debate about it all here - I know what I know. But you might enjoy it.

If, when you're done reading her blog, you want to see a different side of her you can go here.

(Yes, I disabled comments. Remember, I didn't post any debate-worthy political opinions here.)

Praying For Baby

Tonight as I was praying with Steele and Adia before bedtime I finished up by praying for the next little Jobes baby, whomever that may be.

Lord, we pray for the next little baby that you will bring to our family. Please watch over him or her. Keep them safe and healthy. We pray for their birth mother - that you would help her to make wise choices and that you would lead her in the right path.

And just as I was about to say "In Jesus name we pray. Amen" Steele, with his little head bowed and his hands clasped tight, piped up.

And a boy.

Yes, Lord. Steele would like a boy. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

I then decided to question Steele a little further about his prayer. This is, after all, the second time he has offered, without solicitation, the fact that he would like a boy.

So you would like a boy baby, huh Steele?

Yah.

How about you Adia? Would you like a boy baby too?

These days Adia repeats and agrees with everything Steele says, so she answered with an emphatic. Uh-huh. Wide eyed with a head nod.

Then Steele again.

Two boys. Holding up two fingers.

Oh, TWO boys?

Yah.

And what would you like to name these boys?

Lewis and Allan.

Allrighty. I'll keep that in mind, Steele.