Part 1 of our Lasts and Firsts...

Since I left the blogging world for a while, I think I will have to do a series of what has happened over the last month and a half. So....here we go with part one!!

As I was going through our pictures over the last several weeks, I realized that I had a lot of "lasts" of our life in Oregon and "firsts" of our life in California. So, lest they all get lost in the shuffle of life...I decided to put them on my blog.

The day before Phil left in November, we took a day to have fun and went bowling. Here are some pictures of the fun.

Daddy showing....and telling how it is done!!

Victoria tried sooo hard (and won the second game!!) and Mariah just kept readjusting her form to try to get the ball down to the pins faster!!

The highs and lows of the game for two VERY competitive members of our family!!

We really did have fun. Phil and I were so glad we put all of our "to do's" on hold for a few hours of fun and relaxation with the kids. We are so glad we had a fun day of laughing and being silly because that night at church was the "farewell" and it was incredibly emotional for the whole family. The kids had a hard time and so did all their friends. I told my children that some people are not loved that much in their entire lifetime and we have been blessed to know true love and friendship in our short lives. What a blessing it is to be part of a church. The nice thing was that a few weeks later we had a FUN goodbye celebration at Papa's Pizza (trust me there were still tears, but everyone had a blast - especially the kids)...pictures are coming!

We Made It!!

Wow...can you say that backwards...WOW. What a ride it has been over the last 6 weeks. We are settling into our sweet house that Phil picked out for us. Truly, I love it. It is smaller than our previous house and I must say, I enjoy it. It takes me way less time to clean and we still have room for everything we need.

I have so much to tell and so many pictures to take and share, but I am just THRILLED to have internet service. Anyway...we are now Californians and trying to love it. I must admit some days are harder than others. I miss my friends and family so much. It is hard to imagine that I am truly living this far away from all of them. But, the alternative is unemployment so we will stick with this (hee hee!!). Soon enough, this will all feel like home and we will think back on how sappy and pathetic we were.

I could ramble on for hours but that wouldn't make for an interesting blog. I just wanted to post something new (this one is for you Kelly!!!). Our e-mail address has changed - we will send that out at a later date. Of course, you can leave comments on the blog and that would be wonderful.

Love to all....

And once again...Monday morning came!!

A few weeks ago, our week got turned upside down on a Monday morning with Phil having a herniated disk and an eye that wouldn't quit swelling. Well, this Monday just turned our entire world upside down!!!

Phil has been transferred to Napa, CA and he leaves on Thursday.

Shocked, happy, scared (terrified), proud....I don't think there are enough emotions to express what my day was like yesterday. Our entire life has been here. For 18 years I have been part of a church that has helped make me what I am today. I have friends that I can hardly stand to not talk to every day (yes, Kelly, that is YOU!!). How do you just say goodbye to friends and family that have become a part of you? I am not sure, but I think I am going to find out....

Are we happy, oh yes. Phil has been working towards this for 16 years. Surprised? Not really, we knew it was going to happen eventually. Scared? Oh, yes, everything we have ever known is about to change. But, it is an awesome accomplishment for Phil. Everyone says the area is gorgeous and a great place to raise our family. It is an awesome place for people to visit us (did you hear that all my friends and family.....visit us!!).

So, yes, Phil leaves Thursday and starts working on Friday (amazing, huh??). The kids and I will stay here and tie up all the loose ends and pack our stuff. The kids can't decide what they think. Logan was the most emotional, but he has made such awesome friends it is hard for him to ever imagine making those kinds of friends in another state. He frets over having a Bible Quiz team to be a part of. But, we know all these things will work out in time.

I asked Phil if he could call up and say he changed his mind, but that is not an option. And yes, it would be easy to just stay here and never have to travel this road...but easy doesn't always make good character (in us or our children). Our desire is to be where God wants us to be, and this is where he has sent us. The details are for Him to work out. Thank God for Verizon mobile-to-mobile and for the internet and this blog....

To my friends that read this....I love you and can hardly imagine life not being in the same town as you, but just know - you have a great place to visit!! To our family that lives within a few hours of us... you have loved us unconditionally and been so wonderful to our children. We love you and know you will come see us (for as long as we still have the three little munchkins under our roof!!). If nothing else the last couple days I have felt such love from everyone...the tears let me know we will be missed and that we truly are loved - and that makes life worth living!!

38 Things I Love...

So...As we all know, birthdays come faster and faster every year. So fast, that I was reminded last week, by Phil, that he never got his cheesecake from his 37th birthday. Does that mean I have to make two for this birthday? This might just be the first birthday that Phil has really felt his age. So, here are 38 things I love about my 38 year old husband.

38 things I love about you, Phil:

1. You are a Christian in the true sense of the word. How awesome to share life with someone that tries to see things through Christ's eyes.

2. You love and adore me after ALL these years. It is wonderful to be adored by you, my best friend, after 16 awesome years of marriage!!

3. You are the best father to our children - you love each of them with such a true, complete and unique love.

4. Hard worker - You work so hard so that we can live our dream of me staying home to raise and teach our children.

5. You never complain - even after a 14 hour day of dealing with immature employees, high expectations, and irate customers and then you enter your messy house, noisy kids and grumpy wife - without a single complaint!!

6. Faithful - you are faithful to everything in your life....your family, job, and church!!

7. Energetic - I love the energy you have...no one would guess your age:)

8. Slow to speak - even when quick words would get your point across but would hurt someone deeply.

9. You make life FUN!!

10. You are giving of your time, energy, money, and possessions

11. You love to share so that others can enjoy what you have

12. You never hold a grudge - even when I do

13. You are soooo likeable - everyone likes you (unless you intimidate them - hee hee)

14. Strong in your convictions, but slow to pass judgement - everyone knows the standards you uphold for yourself, but you are not judgemental of those that don't hold the same standards.

15. You speak what is on your heart with love - even when it is not what someone wants to hear, but they NEED to hear it.

16. Life of the party - this makes my life easy...you are our entertainment!!

17. Easy to love - you open your heart and life to everyone...."Everyone loves Phil"

18. You Never Give Up

19. You trust God to provide all your needs - even when we have no place to live in five days!!

20. You love and honor your parents and would do anything to help them

21. Dependable

22. You are willing to put your plans aside in order to stay where God wants you.

23. Patient - with everyone

24. You are a teacher - you can teach anyone to do anything...think - you taught me to ride a four-wheeler (and it isn't an automatic!!).

25. You are the best story-teller ever (just ask all your former and current Sunday School kids)!!

26. You are the "eternal optimist"...everything will always work out, even with a hiccup (or two)in the plan.

27. Supportive - you will do whatever you can to help me accomplish the things I want to do...Not everyone would pick up all the dropped pieces to the Christmas Cantata (their wife was directing) at the last minute - and make it the best EVER!

28. You don't like to "divide and conquer" - even when I have to run to Wal-Mart at 10:00pm and the kids need to go to bed. We just all pile in the car and go together. Truly I love it - no matter what I say at the time!!

29. You choose to spend your vacations with your family. Of all the hobbies you could choose - you chose one that includes the five of us.

30. You can fix ANYTHING....according to your children - they believe you are the best and you will take care of anything and everything they break!!

31. You will not accept the "age" factor. You continue to play and act like you are a kid - which makes you a GREAT Dad (with some pain in the end!!)

32. You are fair - you never take sides

33. You let me be me

34. You married me even though I came from a completely different life than you did!!

35. You love my family - even though they were a little messed up when we first met (and, to all my family, you know that is true!!)

36. You don't mind when you don't get a birthday present - sometimes money is just tight!!

37. You are handsome - I know people say looks don't matter, but let's be honest...it really does.

38. You are Phil and you never change - I love you more today than I did when you were 18 years old...You are the love of my life and I adore you!

Happy Birthday to the best man around.....

A morning at the farm...

This tradition started when Logan was only 15 months old and we normally go with either family or friends. This year we were flying solo, but still had a good time. Every year we go to Thistledown Farms, ride on either a horse-drawn or tractor pulled trailer, then walk, trip and fall through the pumpkin patch until we find the perfect one. The one rule...you have to carry your own pumpkin. This used to be an inexpensive adventure, but as we have grown in number and STRENGTH it has gotten a little bit spendier (hee hee)....

The day was fun. The first thing we saw when we were walking out to look at the animals was a chicken. When we were camping, Uncle Harold, taught my kids a bunch of cute songs and one was about a chicken...so we kept singing about the chicken - and it was adorable - so I had to get a picture. For those of you curious the song goes like this:

I had a little chicken that wouldn't lay an egg
So I poured hot water up and down its leg.
The little chicken hollered and the little chicken begged
Then the little chicken laid a hard-boiled egg.

So, that is what you get when you go camping with folks raised in Indiana - I guess. Because I surely had never heard that song before, but I don't think we will ever forget it either!!

The kids had fun with the animals, even as I kept telling the girls, "now remember, you can't suck your thumb until we wash your hands real good". It's a bummer sometimes to be a germ freak...

The time was fun and now we are all looking forward to cleaning the pumpkins out and Phil baking the seeds to perfection. No carving for this family, we just enjoy the look of the pumpkins on our porch and the wonderful taste of the seeds once they are cooked!!

What a week...

I was looking through my camera last night, and realized I haven't done anything with the "pumpkin patch" pictures from last weekend...and I must say, they are sooooo cute. At that moment, I sat back on the couch and looked through them and thought, "wow, that seems like a long time ago - but it was less than a week ago."

You see, when we go camping, the first few days home are all about cleaning everything up OUTSIDE and getting laundry under control (or as under control as my laundry ever gets!!). So, by Sunday afternoon, I was either going to laugh or cry at the disastrous state of my home. Oh, yes, the trailer was clean and parked beside the house, laundry from camping was getting caught up (never mind the heaping basket in my closet), the bikes were washed, and one third of a cord of wood was neatly stacked beside the shed (the whole reason we currently possess 1/3 cord of wood is for a whole different post - but, a funny story I tell you!!). Phil was happy with all of our accomplishments and headed to work the next day and whew...I can get my house clean and start school with the kids. And then....Monday happened...

Phil calls at 7:30am on Monday and tells me his eye is swollen AGAIN (third time in a month) and he needs to go BACK to the doctor. He arrives home about 45 minutes later and looks like the elephant man. I mean, his eye is not just a little swollen, we are talking swollen SHUT. AND...his back hurts, maybe he should go to the chiropractor. So, my Monday turned into no school for the kids, no housecleaning, but running Phil to the chiropractor (because his back hurt so bad he could hardly move) and to the eye doctor (because he was currently not fit to drive a car!). The answer about his eye...they have no idea. Huh, nice to pay someone a couple hundred dollars (thank God for insurance) to be told "we're stumped!". The good thing is the swelling is gone - we will see if it decides to return in a few weeks! The back, well we figured it was just out and he would feel better within a day. Not so much.....

The rest of the week followed with another doctor's appointment, an MRI on his back, an appointment with a back specialist, numerous prescriptions for serious pain killers and muscle relaxers. And the end result...a herniated disc in his neck. So, those of you that read our blog are probably saying, huh, must be from those four-wheelers. Happy for us...NO. It is either from a tough round of basketball with the neighborhood kids (ages 8-12) and a 37 year old man that thinks he can still dunk a ball like a 16 year old - OR it could be from one of our lovely cherubs jumping on Daddy's back...because he looks so much like a trampoline (not!).

Needless to say, my week was chaos. The house is somewhat clean, laundry has gone hay-wire AGAIN, we missed two days of school...but my beloved husband might start feeling better. With a lot of pain killers and physical therapy starting on Wednesday, we hope he will be back to normal before the main holiday season starts (which does not start until Thanksgiving in our family!!).

As I sat back and looked at the pictures from last weekend, I thought about how life sometimes hands me a whole new deck of cards that I was not planning on. For those of you who don't know me that well, I am a focused, task driven, keep it as I expect kind of person. But, over the last couple of years, God has been trying to show me that sometimes He has other plans for me and I need to learn to roll with it. Once again, He showed me that He is in control and eventhough Phil is in excruciating pain, we will be able to get through this. God has allowed Phil to be in a position that he can decide how much "physical" labor he is going to do at work, He has put Phil on "salary" instead of hourly (which rarely works to our advantage, but these next few weeks it might!!), and we have good health insurance. So, just when I think God has completely forgotten my address, I am reminded once again, that He knows right where I am and He is going to help me through all those twists and turns He hands us....as long I trust Him more than myself.

As for the adorable pumpkin patch pictures....they're coming. But, since I can't post something without a picture, I hope you enjoy the beautiful scenery picture we took on our drive home from the coast.

Let the Sun Shine at the Oregon Coast!!

Okay, so I promise you it looked like this everyday except Thursday morning during our week at the coast. People always say we are making it up...but we truly enjoyed sunny days, star-filled nights and even the most beautiful full moon I have seen in ages. It was quite the week. The Park Rangers kept laughing when more people would show up to visit and hang out with us. Unfortunately, in all the chaos we didn't get a single picture with "everyone"...

Among our wonderful guests were, my mom and Michael, Phil's parents, The Kerns (long-time family friends), Rod, my grandparents and for one day Phil's brothers family came....Wow!!! Our kids had a blast with their cousins on Tuesday (Shanelle, the newest addition, was sleeping in the trailer at this point - sorry Shanelle - we'll get you next time!). Logan and Landen love to ride 4-wheelers together so this was extra special for them to be together. After the 'big' ride, the Dads took Victoria and Nathan out to do some more practicing on the smaller hills. Next time they may even get to ride out over the big hills on their own!!

My grandparents came to visit us Tuesday morning and my grandpa gave it his best effort to take a ride on the sand dunes. He made it about half-way through the "whoops" (in case you have never heard of these, they are serious speed bump like things made out of sand). After several of these whoops, he told Michael he didn't think it was worth it. So, they came back to camp. I think it is pretty cool that at his young age of 86 years old he was willing to try it. Oh how I hope I have that much life in me at that age!!

I think we have a lot of family convinced that riding 4-wheelers is pretty fun. My mom had a lot of fun riding with Michael, but once he let her loose on her own she had a blast. The first time going down a hill was a little scary (note the picture on the bottom left!!), but she loved it once she made it. They had so much fun that they are planning to come with us in April.

Then, Phil was able to talk his mom into going for a ride with his dad. This is a big step since my dear mother-in-law has battled vertigo since January 2008. It was awesome to see that she really is getting better (slow but sure!!) and was able to truly enjoy Phil guiding them on a personal tour of the sand dunes.





Needless to say, the trip was great and the kids had a blast. I am still trying to figure out how to post a slideshow of pictures, but it is taking me a while. So, this is it for now, but keep looking back...I am determined to get the slideshow on here.

Mmmmm....good!

The rule in our house on your birthday is you get to pick your FAVORITE meal. Victoria picks Chicken and Dumplings every year. We aren't sure if it's because it is truly her favorite or because her older brother completely HATES them - so much that he actually threw them up one time!! Yikes, I don't think I won the good mommy award that night. Anyway, Here is Victoria thoroughly enjoying her dinner, and her brother enjoying his cheese and crackers with chicken broth, and Mariah trying to force herself to like them....

Her last day of being FIVE

Okay, so I know she is not turning 18 or anything, but I have to say that I have always had a hard time the day before each of my kids' birthdays. Tomorrow, sweet Victoria Lanae Swank will turn the big "6" years old. No longer will she be able to show her age using just one hand...from now on she will have to use two hands (or more like a lot of us!!).

It is hard to believe the time has gone this quickly. It truly seems like yesterday we had our little infant in the car screaming her head off all the way from Junction City to church in Springfield!! Yes, for those of you that know this area - that is an entire 30 minutes of a baby SCREAMING!! Logan, at 3 years of age, would sit in his car seat and plug his ears. At that moment, we decided boys were definitely easier than girls!! But it didn't take us long (about 10 weeks - which seemed like a lifetime at the moment) to figure out something is not right with this child....we found out she was lactose intolerant and when I had milk....she screamed!!! AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED. So, out with the milk for Mommy and hello to a nice, quiet, content, joyful little baby girl....Ahhhh, this is what we had hoped for!!

So, that was our start with Victoria. The first girl to grace Phil's family. But, no matter how much she screamed, that beautiful head full of black hair and those VERY dark eyes seemed to melt all of our hearts. And even yesterday, her beautiful brown eyes caused her Daddy to use his DEBIT card in the soda machine at his work. How on earth do you decide to use your debit card in a soda machine I asked.

You have your first daughter looking up at you saying "Daddy, do you have any money for a soda?"

"No, Victoria, I don't have any cash"

"You can use your debit card in that machine can't you Daddy?"

"Well, yes I guess I can"

And so she came home happy as a clam to tell her older brother that DADDY bought her a soda at Les Schwab..."guess you should have come with us, Logan!!" Oh, the joy she gets when she has a moment alone with Daddy!!

So, as the day goes on, I will remember it as the last day for her to be five. Next comes the lost teeth and with it the sweet little girl look gone and the "ugly duckling" stage coming. She will start reading entire books to us, learning to play the piano (because that happens when you are six in our house!!), and loving it because she is older than Mariah - and always will be!!

So, my sweet Victoria, just remember that you are loved beyond measure, not only by your Daddy and I, but by a God that created you just as you are. And as you continue to seek after the things of God your life will be blessed beyond measure. You are beautiful in every way and we thank God that He chose us to be your parents...You have brought our family such joy and happiness. And all that screaming as a baby just got your lungs ready for all that talking and singing you love to do now!!

Enjoy your day today, little girl, for tomorrow you will wake up and be SIX YEARS OLD....

CAUTION...Nine-year old present

Wow, I really thought I had this homeschooling thing figured out....and then we started the 4th grade with Logan. I should have known things were going to be difficult when in early September, Logan came downstairs wrapped in a towel, pleading for forgiveness. My first thought - this is not good. Well, I was right!! He went on to tell me that as he was getting ready for his shower, he looked up at the bathrobe hooks and thought it would be fun to jump up and hang from them. Okay, so the Olympics weren't the best thing for our family to watch!! Anyway, as you might expect, the hooks DID NOT hold my spindly little 60 pound son. Instead the hooks came out of the wall and Logan came tumbling down.

The consequence....well you have to tell your Dad. The anticipation of it nearly killed him; however, I knew Daddy would be more than forgiving...I have a feeling he might have tried this same trick as a child!! As they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!!

Logan's confession to his dad was full of tears and "I'm really, really sorry".

And Daddy's reaction??? "It's okay, Bud, I will see if I can fix it". And yes, he did.

My mommy words..."Son, this is why we tell you to think before you do something."

His reply, "Mom I did think. I thought it would be fun and that the hooks would hold me"

So, why am I surprised when I find him, during school time, doing back bends on the family room floor, playing ball with the dog, or making sure his sisters are playing okay. And then there are the history tests that just don't go so well, or the handwriting that is just too much, or the argument that the math answer he got is right - regardless of what the answer key says!!....All I know is I think I had too many years that were easy. I was the one that said to fellow homeschool moms, "No, Logan really doesn't have a hard time staying focused". Or to Logan "Wow, another 98% on that test!!". But, here we are in the muck of 4th grade and trying to learn how to work past those tough problems. My hopes are high that 5th grade might be easier...but until then I feel like I am stuck in the 4th grade with a nine year old that just wants to hang from the nearest bathrobe hook or play tackle football with the neighborhood kids!!

The encouraging thing is that one of my best friends fears that her 9 year old son will grow up and live in a cardboard box on the corner. My response...maybe he and Logan can share a cardboard box!!!

But with a lot of prayer, love and support we will make it through this year just like we made it through all the others. And during summer vacation, I will once again say:

I love homeschooling!!

Enjoying Family...

My Great-Aunt Judy came for a visit with my Mom and Michael. We had not seen her since Victoria was a baby. We thoroughly enjoyed having her visit our home and be with the kids. It took the girls very little time before they asked her to read....if you come to our home you will probably be asked for the same thing!!! Logan enjoyed having her here, but Grandpa Michael was ready and willing for a round of golf with Logan. And that is something Logan just can not resist!!!

I have come to realize how special our extended family is to my children. We have found ourselves in such a unique situation. Both sets of my grandparents are still alive and one set of his were alive until this last year. Our older children will always have memories of three sets of great-grandparents!!

As we were talking about the wonderful time we had with Aunt Judy, we realized that in just a few short weeks we will be going on a once-in-a-lifetime vacation for our kids. We will be going to the coast (or back to the coast as most of our friends would say!!) with a whole list of people, but among the elite will be: my mom and Michael, Phil's parents, and my grandparents. WOW!!! I hope that someday my children will look back on this next vacation as a true blessing. Not many children can say they went camping with both sets of grandparents and a set of great-grandparents!! To top it off....my grandpa wants to go for a ride on one of the four-wheelers (and he is a mere 85 years old!!). If that happens, you can bet you will see pictures of it!!

The Last Days of Summer....

We enjoyed our last few days of summer doing our favorite thing....we spent six wonderful nights camping with our good friends, The Johnsons, at Honeymon Campground in Florence, Oregon. We walked, biked, rode four wheelers, played games, roasted marshmellows, and laughed a lot. This vacation has become tradition for both of our families. We started when Victoria was a baby and have continued this at least once a year. The amazing thing is we never grow tired of it.


Life is funny and we never know where it will lead us, but to take a week to enjoy good friends and our wonderful family is so refreshing. It truly brings a joy and appreciation for life that sometimes gets lost in our busyness at home. At a time when we are waiting for the "phone call" that tells Phil he is moving on as a Manager of a Les Schwab store, it was especially enjoyable.

This is the time when Logan gets a taste of what life would be like to have brothers. The Johnsons have four boys and Logan LOVES playing with all of them. This vacation is all about riding bikes, playing football, and having a good time with his favorite friends.

As I held my girls each night by the roaring fire. I realized how quickly time goes by and how fast my "young" family isn't so young anymore. I mean they dress themselves, help themselves to all the food they want (whether they are supposed to or not!!), and even want to roast their own marshmellow - with "no help"!! How quickly I have transitioned from a mommy of little ones to a mommy of ones that think everyone else is little. It reminds me that our children have such a little time to be young. My children will remember me as always saying "please...don't grow up too fast". But as I watched Victoria take off with the big kids for a long bike ride, I realized that my little girlie-girl has truly become one of the big kids. And the great thing is, she is not afraid to try to keep up with the big boys. So with hair flying out of her bicycle helmet and her skirt as cute as could be, off she went with her Daddy to let him know she has moved on to be a big kid. And eventhough she is almost six....I have decided it is okay if she still sucks her thumb. Because as we all know, our childhood is so short, just enjoy it!!