I am thankful for happy children...

what more can I ask? Enjoy the pictures this time!

James LOVES animals, especially his pal, Koya

Alex, enjoying every last bit of that frosting!!!!

Ellie enjoying the frosting, and leaving the cookie



Glenn, just enjoying frosting with Grandma and Grandpa D!




Ellie loves to be our little princess... even if the crown is upside down :-)


The kids LOVED Thanksgiving dinner... all the way from the cooking stages...to the activities in between food prep and courses....

to the yummy pie at the end!

Mmmmmmmmm.... Gooooooooood! Pumpkin pie from fresh pumpkin, and Pecan Pie from Todd... and if you've had his pie before, I don't need to say anything else!

The Dye's cleaned house in a karate tournament

Both received 1st place in sparring

Here's a video of their team performance together... 3rd place... Glenn did a great job going into stealth mode to catch up to James!

James was ecstatic to participate in the local school Science Fair Project: From start to finish, he knew exactly what he wanted! Such a rock hound!

And Glenn, being the younger brother... of course, wanted to follow in his brother's footsteps! He wanted to learn about teeth! Guess that doesn't surprise me, coming from my child who loves food! They loved participating, but I think the Fair at the end, where they got to run around and play with their friends, was the highlight :-)

All I can say, is that she obviously knows something that I don't!

So happy, just to sit and color together! I LOVE those moments! Look at their faces... pure happiness!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I love this time of year when I stop and think of all the many blessings that I have in my life. And although kids are high on my list... happier kids are even higher :-)

Fall has brought us....

Happy Halloween, Thanksgiving, Fall, and whatever else you celebrate! Even though we got the flu bug, we've still tried to do what we can to celebrate this beautiful time of year! This is what our Fall has brought us...

First off... we've enjoyed many wonderful meals from our children! Glenn made superb spaghetti and meatballs... just look at how Alex enjoyed that meal! And Glenn also helped me make the dinner in a pumpkin. The kids love the responsibility, and I love teaching them kitchen etiquette... don't taste your product with your finger! :-) Anyway, we've had some fabulous meals lately because of our boys!


Second... fall brings us pumpkin patches! We've all had a wonderful time playing to our hearts content at 2 fabulous pumpkin farms... Airlie Pumpkin Farm, and Heiser Pumpkin Patch! What more could you ask for... delightful company while your kids play in corn/hay mazes, go on tractor rides, try to pick up pumpkins bigger than them, slide down slides, watch pumpkin cannons shoot pumpkins at least 300 feet through the air, and climb on giant hay bails that look like spiders. Oh, and a cross race right through the middle of one! Life was good...

Then, our third reason for loving fall... took a u-turn. Our family got stuck with the flu bug, and our typical Halloween of going to Astoria and watching people ride their bikes in costumes... well, that will just have to wait till next year! We did make it to downtown trick-or-treating, though, and went to a few houses in the neighborhood, but other than that, kept it quiet. We did have a few visitors that we walked around with, to make our Halloween much more enjoyable. We were in full StarWars attire... James was Luke, Glenn was Darth Vader, and Alex was a clonetrooper. And I put Ellie's hair up in 2 mini buns... I never did get a picture of her, though... go figure! So, Halloween was good, but we do hope that next year we won't be sick! And here's to a good winter, since we're chalk full of antibodies... right??!!

Our fourth reason for loving Fall... it's Glenn's birthday! Grandma D was visiting, so we celebrated a day early, and he was in seventh heaven! We declared it Glenn week, and had a great time showing him how much we appreciated him, and what he brings to our family, and to our individual lives! And Glenn was SOOO excited, as you can see, to have Grandma D here to share it with him. The highlight of his birthday, was going to StarWars in Concert up in Portland, though. The boys LOVED it, especially Alex. They were riveted every second of the performance! And before/intermission, the boys loved finding the StarWars characters. Everyone got a kick out of Alex, though. Everyone else posed to get a picture with the characters.... Alex posed as to play the part WITH the characters.... always pretending to fight with his light saber, etc. It was hilarious. The kids had a great time!!! Well worth the trip! It is hard to believe Glenn is 6 now, but he is growing like a weed, and is so anxious to catch up to his brother!!! Hmmmm.... think I should break it to him that he won't? :-)

Fifth reason we love fall... that's when Todd's parents are moving to OREGON! Grandma D came out here to look at a few houses, and although we saw one house we liked, Todd and I never saw any houses that we knew would be perfect for the Dye's. Then.... we happened to call the right realtor, who knew of the right place, and before we knew it, Grandma D had bought a house in Philomath! I say Grandma D, because Grandpa D still hasn't seen it in person! But we have taken lots of videos and pictures for him! It still doesn't seem real... even though the deal is closed! I still feel like I need to be pinched, but I don't dare tell my kids that! :-) The house that they found has a gorgeous view of the mountains at sunset... perfect! They should be moving in around Thanksgiving!!!!! So, we will officially not have Thanksgiving alone this year!!!! I am so excited to actually be able to cook for a crowd! We always actually do cook for a crowd... we just have lots of leftovers! :-) When Grandma D wasn't looking for houses, though, Alex was her little sidekick! Alex read books with Grandma D, laughed with Grandma D, and cried with Grandma D (even though he was usually crying tears from bumps, and Grandma D had tears trying to contain her laughter). Alex made sure they were taken care of, with blankets, pillows, and monkey to make sure they weren't lonely! Anyway, we are all so excited to have Grandma and Grandpa D out here with us!!!! Only a few more weeks!

Last, but not least, we are happy for fall, so we can count our blessings over this past summer. The Relief Society from our church recently gave Alex a quilt which they made for him. It's a very special quilt. I'm already having to get the tissue box! People from our church were invited to contribute one block for Alex. Then the blocks were sewn together to make this quilt. What I had envisioned being a lap blanket, turned out larger than I could have imagined! And what made the quilt even more special, is that everyone who contributed a block, also contributed an 8.5X11 sheet of paper which contained a swatch of the fabric, and a note to Alex. The sheets were put into a binder, and became a game for Alex. As we go through the pages, he has to find the fabric which corresponds to the swatch. Then when he finds it, we read the message to him. James helped Alex with this game, and even when he was done, he commented on how good this blanket made him feel. It was made with love, sewn with love, written with love, and helped us feel the love for our family.

Well, that's it from our family. I truly hope that your family is doing well! We really do miss all you midwesterners, and hope you make it out to Oregon sometime! One last thing I thought of, I also am enjoying this fall, because Ellie's hair is finally long enough to do things with! Here are 2 pigtails... still looking forward to the day I can braid it, though! Take care everyone, and Happy Fall! Stay happy and healthy!

Summer Fun...

I still can't believe that September is here. The summer has flown past us! But, not without some fun.

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted last. It kept getting further down the priorities list! But, here we are with a bunch more pictures for you all to enjoy. Thanks for waiting patiently.

I was privileged to pick peaches this year! It is something that I LOVE to do, even if I don't fully enjoy canning/freezing them afterwards. But I do it anyway, because I LOVE to pick! There is something so calming and peaceful for me, when I feel a peach just fall into my hands, as I take it from the tree. The tree says "ahhh... yes, finally a weight lifted...." and I say... "ahhh... yes, finally a beautiful juicy peach." It is such a mutual friendship! And as you can see, Ellie LOVES her peaches as well. The boys ran back and gave the man a quarter whenever Ellie dug into one... again. She just sat on the cart, and ate what she could!

We had an old college friend (she's not old of course :-)) come down with her family and stay the night with us. What a wonderful family! After all these years, it was neat to see why we were such good friends in college! We picked up where we dropped off, like we'd known each other for years! It was great to see them all! They stayed the night with us, and the boys had a blast with their 4.5 year old... so much so that we never heard a peep out of them, and before we knew it, it was midnight, and the kids were happily, and quietly still playing. Such irresponsible parents! :-) It was wonderful to see them play so well together, though! And the following morning, we went to... pick peaches, of course! Now, if only we could get them to move down to Corvallis :-) She's a triathlete, and I had so much fun riding with her... she'd be a great addition to our riding group!

James had his first campout as a cub scout last month, and was so excited! Todd's been on tons of campouts with scouts before, but he wanted to make his first one with James special... so, off on tandem they went to Brownsville, with camping gear in the trailer. They had a blast, and are both anxiously awaiting next year to bike out there again! James has gotten quite good on the tandem! Todd and he make a fantastic team together! But, we did just get a used cross bike for James, and James LOVES to ride it. So, Todd hopes he keeps up his fire on the tandem, and doesn't want to always ride solo. It's such wonderful bonding time for them... no cell phones, no computers, just the 2 of them. I am so glad we have those tandems. And we are so thankful that the boys like to ride as much as we do!

While James and Todd were gone, the rest of us had a party. Popcorn, movie, and puzzle fun. Glenn LOVES 3D puzzles, and why shouldn't he... he's fantastic at them! He started this puzzle the previous night, and when I came down the following morning (he beat me downstairs, and quietly worked on it while I was sleeping), he had finished it. If you've done a 3D puzzle before, you know this is quite a feat. And obviously he was quite happy! Way to go Glenn! If you need anything built, ask Glenn! Glenn also has recently acquired a bigger bike from a neighbor. He went from being scared of going downhills, to becoming a kamikaze downhill! He FLIES down our cul-de-sac as fast as his little legs can carry him! Todd came out, and saw this kid flying down the hill, and thought, "Who on earth is that?" Then took a double take, and it was Glenn! This literally happened overnight! So, last weekend he did his first kids race, and was in seventh heaven! He's growing up fast!

Alex's burns are improving. They have healed completely over now, and has these compression socks that he wears that go from his knee, down to his little toes. We've definitely had a lot of finagling to do with seams, and such, but I think we've got most of the kinks worked out, and they are doing it's job. He loves the compression socks... first they help relieve the itching, and second, they allow him to do anything again! They provide the protection from sunlight, and from scrapes and bruises. So, he still needs to wear them for a year, but at least he loves them!!! He'll still be wearing pants till next year too, but thankfully he loves pants, too! Of course, it helps that I took his shorts away, so he doesn't have that option in his drawer! But he is very happy, go-lucky, and will gladly show his burns off to anyone who asks, and tells them they are feeling better!

We had another friend come visit us this summer from my high school! It was so good to see her again, and reconnect. Ellie showed off her love for Koya's water bowl, and would put her hair in the bowl, and then pick up her head and smile as the water dripped into her face. Disgusting, I know, but so cute! Jenn and I got to go over to the coast together and spend the night at a beautiful B&B. We soaked in the hot tub a few times, walked the beach, saw the seals and Yaquina Head Lighthouse. And Jenn was my guinnea pig that I made go on all the rocks that were near the ocean but had great views behind them! Perfect photo opportunities! It never failed, though, and as soon as she got up on the rock, a huge wave would come in and get her soaked, and close to stranded! I couldn't stop laughing!!! Of course, because it wasn't me! :-) It was a great weekend, and it was sad to see her go. Especially Alex, who clung to her, and made her read any book he brought her! They were pals!

Speaking of pals, Ellie and Koya have become the best of friends! They have a mutual relationship at the dinner table. Koya will let Ellie lay all over her, and do what she likes with her, as long as Ellie continues to drop half of her food off the table! Ellie LOVES Koya, and looks forward to seeing her in the morning, and letting her inside, and looks forward to laying with her when she's laying down. It's fun to see her enjoy Koya so much. Ellie enjoys life in general, though. She loves having the boys dote on her, loves being the center of attention, loves playing with the phones (fake ones DO NOT COUNT in her book), and talks as much as she can! She's growing up so fast, and is trying so hard to communicate with us. She does some basic signs, but I am amazed how much she can talk to us, too. Such a girl! Already loves the phone, and talking. Watch out! Her favorite things to say first thing in the morning is, "Papa." Then when she sees Papa, her favorite thing to say is, "Bye." But she gives fabulous hugs now, and we all melt when she divvy's them out!

Well, our school year has begun as well! Ellie is adjusting from not being the center of attention! The first week I counted down till nap time! But this week is going so much better! She comes up to the table and colors when the boys are at the table, but otherwise, just goes and does her own thing... like wear princess crowns! The other boys were so anxious to school start, the first day couldn't get here fast enough for them! But if finally came, and they were excited to see that waffles with blueberries, whip cream, syrup, and chocolate sauce, waiting for them at the table! It was a great start to a great year! This year we're moving into Rome, studying biology, and keeping up on our Chinese. Fun, fun, fun! The kids are excited as can be, which just makes me smile to see their love for learning! As sad as it is to see the summer playdates disappear, at least they are excited for the next stage! Welcome to fall everyone!

Take care everyone!

With love,

The Dye's

To Miracles and Kind People

I wanted to give an update on Alex, and the blog is the best way that I know how. For those of you who are not aware, our 3 year-old tripped backwards into a firepit with a live fire, while we were camping up by Clear Lake along the McKenzie River. I was at the picnic bench, so ran over as quick as I could, but he still had borderline 2nd/3rd degree burns on the back of his legs from the ring of the firepit.

Miraculously, we had a fantastic day enjoying each other's company, and went on a beautiful hike by Clear Lake. We stayed and played in the stream for about an hour each way on our hike, and Alex LOVED playing in the water. Which in turn soaked his shorts, and saved him from being burned worse. His jacket, as you can see was melted in places, but he had on a long-sleeved shirt AND short sleeved shirt underneath. So, he still had minor burns from just the heat on his waistline and arm, but miraculously, nothing else. And he was also wearing his hat... which had burn marks on it as well... so his head was spared, minus a very minor burn from a stick up on his brow. So, when we stop to think of all that could have happened... falling in face first, having dry crisp clothes, we feel so blessed that our Alex is here with us, and doing well.

When I first grabbed him out of the fire, I threw off his jacket, and noticed that his hands were burned from putting them down and trying to get up. So, the campers nearby who heard him came running over, and were so kind and gentle to all my kids, and took my jug of water and poured it over his hands. In the back of my mind, I'm thinking, this poor child can't console himself by sucking his fingers... which he LOVES to do, but thank goodness it's only his hands (2nd degree). Then someone noticed the back of his legs. Panic started pressing in, but being a mom with my kids around, I knew I had to keep it together. Todd was getting back from leading a group of kids down the McKenzie River Trail, and wasn't there... hmmm... how am I going to find him. Thankfully he rode up within 3 minutes of the instance. I asked him if Dr. Ramton was over with our LDS group, and he said that Dr. Nelson and Dr. Penington were... so he ran over to find them, while these sweet men poured water over Alex, and helped comfort James, who was in tears. Todd came back with our friend and packed all our stuff up while I walked over to the lake and poured water on Alex's legs, and then took him over to the doctors. They were lifesavers.

Doctors are so calm, and that is exactly what I needed. No flipping out! So, Dr. Nelson was so calm and gentle while he applied bandages to Alex. Dr. Penington was calm and reassuring, and had Alex and me lay in the back of his suburban while they went to work. They reassured us that everything was going to be ok... Todd came back to give Alex a blessing, and off we went to Corvallis... a long 2 hour drive. Well, when you go at least 80, it's only an hour and a half! Thankfully Alex calmed way down after the bandages were applied, and actually slept on the way home!!! We had cell signal for about 10 seconds at an interchange about 1.5 hours from home. I quick called my good friend, and visiting teacher, and bawled for the first time as I explained in about one quick sentence what had happened, and asked if she could meet Todd at the house with the kids. She said absolutely, and the signal died.


We got to Corvallis, and Todd dropped Alex and I off at the ER, and took the rest of the kids back home where our Visiting Teachers were waiting at our doorstep. And 2 more women met us at the ER to give me my 'finally-able-to-let-it-out' hug, and Alex a praying teddy bear, which became his comfort through all of this. Alicen stayed with the kids overnight, because as the doctor looked a little more closely at the burns, she knew we needed more care than they could give. So, Alex and Todd (who arrived soon after dropping kids off at home), took a ride in an ambulance up to the Legacy Emanuel Burn Center in Portland. I drove up after taking a quick shower so I didn't smell like our campfire! When the doctor first looked at him, he said that he had a better than even chance that he needed a skin graft. His legs were bad... ARGH... but looking at the burns the next day and a few days after that (we stayed up there 4 days) he decided to let nature take its course, and see how Alex did healing on his own. Unfortunately the doctor wasn't too clear on this, and we had so many people telling us different things... we were quite confused! But I called his office after we got home, and got the whole scoop, and felt much better about things.

During this time, and from then till now, we have had more people offer to help us, than we knew what to do with!!! We were in such a complete fog with every emotion possible running through our heads as Alex cries, has a fever, doesn't move... you just can't stop your mind moving to worst possible situations, and you can't see the light at the end. But we were carried and lifted up as people offered to watch kids, bring meals, do our laundry, clean our house, water our garden, feed our dog, pay for our stay at the Ronald McDonald House.... the list could go on and on. Every time I talked to someone, there was always more. And even though we couldn't accept every one's service, just the thought of everyone trying to help us, gave us the glimpse at the light at the end of the tunnel that we needed. We knew that our Heavenly Father was watching over us, and taking care of us, through other's service.


Well, we were so happy when we were all together again, and back home with our little Alex who called himself a soldier, because everyone called him a 'trooper.' And as horrible as bandage changes are, he is so happy to be home. Each day he has gotten stronger and stronger. He went from never moving off our couch, to crawling around, to standing up, to walking around, to running around!!! He still favors one leg over the other, but is still using both!

And today we took him up to the Burn Center for his follow-up, and he's gone from a better than even chance of having a skin graft, to a better than even chance he won't need one. There is one deep burn on his left leg that they are keeping an eye on, but as long as it continues to make progress, and he doesn't get any infections, he'll be good to go! So, it'll still be quite a while of bandage changes, but there is a light at the end, and we are all so very happy! We go up a week from Monday to get the final say for skin graft or not. So, until then, we just keep plugging along. We have been on a roller coaster, but I am happy that it feels like we are getting close to finishing our ride!

In a moment, our priorities became crystal clear. We knew our Heavenly Father loved us, and was watching out for us, we knew that all of us being together as a family was the most important thing, and we knew that our family and friends were here for us. Nothing else mattered. And as we look back now, we've all learned so much. I've learned that it's ok to lean on others... something that is VERY hard for me to do. I've learned that my family is like cement. When push comes to shove we stick together... praying for each other, loving each other, holding each other, laughing together, and crying together. I've learned that there is great power in prayer. Listening to so many say they were praying for us... people putting Alex's name on the prayer roll... listening to other children pray for Alex, with no prompting from parents... melted my heart, and lifted us up higher than imagined. I've learned that by serving others, we are servants of the Lord. He is offering His help to us through others. And, I've learned to enjoy every moment together. Love your family and friends to your fullest, create memories that won't be forgotten, take the time to enjoy the small things, and notice all the little miracles that surround us. Stay close to your Heavenly Father, and notice His hand in all we do.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts, prayers, concerns, and acts of service. And for those who are just learning about this, thanks for serving all those people near you, and taking care of the families near you who need it. Enjoy life everyone... I know we are doing our best to enjoy ours! We'll let you know how next Monday goes!

James is 8!

Well, I figure I had better hurry up and post this post before Alex's birthday happens tomorrow!

Happy belated birthday to James!

My little boy is now 8. It is so hard for me to believe... I am still going through withdrawals. Even when you ask him, he says that he feels like things connect more, now that he's 8. And I already feel like he's so much older. He truly is connecting the dots more, and frankly, it is a little scary! I enjoy kids when they still don't connect the dots fully, and you can tweak the system a little :-) Not James, anymore...

He has always been my go-to child. If anything needs to be done, I know I can count on James to get it done, first time, right away, and most of the time with a happy smile on his face. He's my unexpected child (I wasn't ready to be a mom, but the Lord had other plans!), yet he was the only child who could have broken me in to be the mom I have become. He teaches me how to become a better person on a daily basis. He ALWAYS keeps us on tract, by telling me when to lower my voice, when to pray for patience, and always informs us when we haven't read scriptures at night... even if it's midnight!!!! He's his Papa's boy when it comes to staying up late at night... we've found him in his bed sneaking his book light at 12:50 in the morning... still reading... and last night as I passed out when my head hit the pillow, I woke up for a little bit at 11:45... enough to see both Todd and James reading voraciously... trying to read as much as they could before the evil Mama woke up to tell them to get to bed!

James LOVES his family. From a little boy, has always been content just spending time with his family. He's Alex's biggest fan, and Ellie walked for him before she walked for me! And James and Glenn... most of the time... are the best of friends, and will both say as much. He's such a wonderful example, and I hope his brothers and sister follow his footsteps! Thanks, James, for all that you do for me, and for your family! You are our twinkling star!

For his birthday, he wanted toast... yep... toast... so we make him a smiley faced toast! Then it was off to baseball games. Our neighbor took him out for his birthday to buy him baseball gloves... I don't know if it was because he was so excited about his birthday, or if it was his gloves, but he did an awesome job hitting that day! He looked like a little professional hitter... way to go James! Glenn had his game first, then James. So, we got to enjoy hanging out as a family at the fields, with beautiful weather! Life was bliss! What more could you ask for...

Well, this boy LOVES the New China Buffet, so we went there for lunch so James could eat his full plate of shrimp... he was in 7th heaven! Then we met some friends at the Bounce Place, and met more back home for cake and ice cream... with a Pikachu cake. James wanted to Pokemon theme... and his favorite is Pikachu. Knowing absolutely NOTHING about Pokemon, it was the best I could do. James did everything else related to Pokemon... and he did a great job! By the end of the day, we were all exhausted, but I think James had a fantastic day!! It was great.

A few weeks later, James had the wonderful opportunity to be baptized with his buddy Christopher. In our church we believe in baptism at age 8, when they are old enough to understand what they are doing, and old enough to be accountable for the covenants they make. And James has done his best to prepare for this day. He's read the Book of Mormon, and has had many wonderful teachers in church, and talks with his family, to know what this day was about. And he was SOOO excited!

It was a perfect day. We were very blessed to have Grandma and Grandpa Brown visit us for the occasion, and help participate in the program! It was such a special moment to watch him get baptized. We are so excited for him! My friend Stephanie and I wrote a song together for this special moment with my mom accompanying, and we held it together till the very end. It's so hard to sing when you have your 2 little ones smiling from ear to ear up at you ... Christopher mouthed 'I love you', and that was the end for Stephanie... which in turn ended me. It was a special experience to write the words of our hearts, and sing to our special little boys.
I'm sad that we didn't get to record this song before my mom left, but hopefully she'll be back again, so we can record it for posterity. The boys always ask me to sing it.

Well, James is now 8... I feel old... at least the sun is shining to help me feel young again! We hope all is well with everyone! And hope you are enjoying a good growing season! Garden pictures to come!

Happy Birthday to Miss Ellie

I'm not sure how Miss Ellie became a Miss, but she most certainly is a Miss. She's not an Ellie yet, she's not an Elizabeth yet, she is Miss Ellie. And I can hardly believe that she turned one a few weeks ago! Of course with her being one, she was oblivious as to what was going on. She just loved the fact that everyone payed so much attention to her!



We started off the day with pancakes with whip cream smiley faces. She loved the whip cream, and shoved it in her mouth as fast as she could!



Throughout the day, people brought her a few gifts... her favorites where: banana bread made into a shape of a 1 ( we like the one, she only cared about the banana bread!), and a picture book that had pictures of our family... but the best part about the book, is that it is drool proof! But I am amazed how much she LOVES to look at those pictures... then chew for a little bit... then look at the pictures again!

Now, as a family, I think our favorite present was a PINK John Deere onesie which says, "Dirt, makes me cuter." It is OH so adorable. And Alex LOVES the tractor shirt, and always pulls it out for Miss Ellie to wear!

And of course, the best part of Ellie's birthday, is the fact that she is only starting to learn how to open packages... which means she needs help from her brothers. They were so excited to teach her this new delight! And by the end, she was thoroughly enjoying ripping paper up. In fact, as the present came out, she'd look at the present, then go back to tearing up the paper some more! So adorable. She is so blessed to have 3 older brothers who love to help her, though. They have just as much fun as I do, teaching her to do new things, and watching her grow up and learn new things every day. It's wonderful to sit and just watch our little family at times...

So, since Ellie has no preference yet as to birthday cakes, we decided to go all out with Ladybugs this year! So, these are not just any ladybugs... let me tell you! These are fancy ladybugs! My friend gave this idea, and it was FABULOUS! It is a chocolate cake mix, prepared and baked, then crumbled and mixed with the absolutely most delicious cream cheese buttercream frosting I have ever tasted! Thankfully I made quite a bit of frosting, so we had plenty left over for taste testing.

Once that mix is made, you form them into the body of a lady bug... for the big bug, I actually pressed the mix into a small bowl... the rest were just done by hand. Then... get ready for this... I bought red chocolate, and dipped the backs of the ladybug into the melted chocolate. Then the kids quickly put chocolate chips into the backs of the small ladybugs, and Oreo cookies into the backs of the large ladybug, and used pieces of licorice for the antennae! The kids had a ball creating these little creatures!!! And we all had the best time enjoying the leftover Oreo's dipped in the leftover cream cheese buttercream frosting... to die for!!!!!

And voila... here is our little family of ladybugs! There is another sweet lady that we know that shares Ellie's birthday... she turned 92! So, we took over a lady bug for her and sang happy birthday... it was fun! Then we were off to ball games, and back home to enjoy birthday cake together as a family! Now, when it came to the cake, Ellie was not so sure about all this. Glenn came up with the idea about putting dirt around the big ladybug with crushed oreo's. She touched that a little, but other than that, she kept on wanting to feed the cake to Koya! Todd broke up her cake and fed her the FABULOUS inside, and she ate a little that Todd gave to her, but really was not interested in it! So, the rest of us were very happy to help her eat her ladybug! They were fabulous! You can see from the picture, that Ellie enjoyed seeing something different in front of her... and enjoyed having everyone's undivided attention on her, but still was not interested in the cake!

The last cake picture is of Ellie's crumbs that she made, while trying to break up the cake to feed to Koya... :-)

So, as her birthday has come and gone, I have to say that Ellie is definitely the twinkle in our family. We all light up around her. She has a way of wrapping us around her little finger. The boys LOVE being a big brother, and treat her so gently and kindly... most of the time :-) Alex still tries to discipline Ellie sometimes, and will say "Ellie Zander Martin" when she's in trouble. Cause of course his name is Alex, but when he's in trouble, it's "Alexander Martin" which in his eyes is "Alex Zander Martin." So, when anyone is in trouble, it's "Ellie Zander Martin, Glenn Zander Martin or James Zander Martin!" And yes, I have heard, "Mama Zander Martin" when he thinks I've done wrong! Hilarious! But Alex, who has tried our patience the most, is becoming friends with Ellie, and that has made such a difference in his life. Yesterday they played peek-a-boo for at least a half hour, and both were giggling uncontrollably! It was so delightful to see!

And as a one-year-old, she can say a few words, with her new favorite being "Cheese." No, not because she likes cheese, but because we went camping last weekend, and took lots of pictures... and now she says cheese when the camera is on! We are trying to teach her sign language, and the funniest is Papa. She puts her thumb on her head and says, "Papa" But when Todd's not there, and she REALLY wants him, she starts with one hand, saying "Papa." Then she works up to the two handed (looks like antlers on her head), "PAPA!" She gets so excited! She can sign eat, and banana, and we're working on please now! Gotta teach them their manners while they're young! :-)

She also has enough hair for a fountain! Well, she had it in for a day, and then she found out that she could pull it out... so we now have fountains for about 5 minutes a day... it's adorable for those 5 minutes! :-)

Since last month, a few more notable moments, are:

The Assyrians have attacked again, and here are the boys practicing their attack strategies!

Alex loves to get dressed by himself... most of the time in James' clothes! I don't know what he's thinking, but he loves it! And here's him with a shirt on halfway inside-out and halfway right-side out... how he did that was beyond us! And the pants are size 8!

James earned his blue belt in karate! He's loving it! As do Glenn and Alex! Alex doesn't take karate lessons at the school, but he sure does take lessons at home!

Well, sorry this is so long! I didn't even include James' birthday! But I will next time! I know if I did this more frequently, they could be shorter! But I am grateful for the chance this blog gives me to look back on the week/month/whatever time allows and see the wonderful blessings we have in our lives. I hope you enjoy it as well.