Welcome to Wickerts Salon!

It has definitely been a stylin' weekend at our house. The twins got their first real haircut, and the dog got her first bath!

Before...

During...

....and after

Christmas

Well I guess, seen as Macy has been mentioned on a couple of other blogs, I should probably get round to mentioning her too!! We had a great Christmas, the kids were very surprised, and so excited about the arrival of little Macy. She is alot of fun, and really hasn't been too much work so far. She is getting the potty training down well, and sleeps at night, with no middle of the night trips outside and no crying. We are working on biting, she seems to have taken a liking to Leahs flesh!!! Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of the morning!

Jaden finally had his prayers answered, but he still can't believe she is his to keep.

We ate Christmas dinner over at my Mom & Dads, as we always do, this year we were joined by the Cookes, The Johns, and the Linders. We had lots of fun, although having lots of kids to take care of makes it a little stressful at times :)

Role Models

Jeremy Baums influence is definately rubbing off on our boys! The other day they came out of their bedrooms, armed with every kind of weapon they could find, shouting "We are Jeremys, and we are off to the woods to go hunting animals!!!" Thanks a bunch Jeremy, I now have two bloodthirsty boys, your example is priceless!!

Singing Tree

Well, that time of year is upon us again. The Singing Christmas Tree is performing this weekend! Jasen, the boys & I went tonight. I have to say I think it was the best music of any tree I have heard, the songs were great this year.



Of course one of the highlights was listening to my stud of a brother sing a solo, well, duet with Jodi it was really good!


I got a couple of cute shots after the performance, this one with "Uncle D" and one with friends Selma & Raymie!!

So I started my Christmas decorating tonight. Jasen is at work, the kids are all in bed, I have all of my candles lit, I am listening to a great Christmas saxaphone CD, it is SO peaceful!! I had to laugh though, because all of my decorations are a good 2 to 3 ft off the ground :) With two toddlers running around, ya do what ya gotta do!!! I guess it gives "stockings were hung by the chimney with care" a whole new meaning!!!

Christmas!!

In just 26 days it will be Christmas again. The months go by so quickly, it seems that we were just packing up last years ornaments, and burning the tree, which we harvested from our own back yard!!

We kicked off our Christmas celebration a little early this year. My Mom, Chris Cooke and I hosted a Christmas tea for the ladies in our church. There were about 50 ladies, it was a really fun evening for everyone, including us!!
We have also been experiencing some unseasonably cold weather. It has been VERY, VERY nippy. The boys have had fun getting bundled up and going out to play.

This is my very favorite time of year. I love to bake, wrap presents, and decorate. I enjoy the fact that it gets dark early, so I can light candles and be cozy. This year, I have no other commitments and I am so looking forward to a laid back, relaxed and enjoyable Christmas.

Thanksgiving at the Wickerts

I know I am a couple of days late posting thanksgiving pictures, but I had to do it seen as everyone else has!! We had a great day. Jasen took the boys down to the beach, it was very cold but it was such a beautiful day.


The Longs, the Baums, Monica Douglas and Shawn Caskey came over for dinner, along with my parents and Dave & Jenn of course. The food was yummy, the company was great, we ate WAY too much, and we laughed alot!!

My kids found it very entertaining to pull all of their books off the shelf in the living room, it kept them occupied for a long time though!

Changes Ahead

Things are changing in the Wickert home over the next few weeks. Firstly we are getting a dog, which we are very excited about. Jaden, with Sydney's help is slowly overcoming his fear of dogs, so we feel that it is a good time, so they can all grow up together :)

Secondly, I have officially handed in my notice at the daycare. Over the last couple of weeks, it has been made very apparent to me that I just don't have the time needed to effectively run the facility. I am slowly learning, and it has taken me a while to figure this out.......that my job right now is to stay home and raise my kids, look after my house, be there for my husband, have an open and hospitable home etc!! I know many of you are saying "duuuhhh", but this has been a process for me. Up until having my children I worked full time, in good jobs with good pay. Since deciding to quit and be a stay at home mom, I have never really put to bed the desire to continue working outside the home. I have always felt a need for more than "just home & kids". I tend to thrive in a challenge and I like to be busy. Over the last few weeks though, I am finally realizing that this is where I am at right now, and this is what I should be doing. It was confirmed to me last week when Jaden asked me "Mommy, why don't you play with me much anymore?" If that doesn't break your heart nothing will....... So, to cut a long story short, I know this is the right decision for me, us at this time, and I can actually say that I am content with it.

Thirdly, Jasen is in the process of making a huge career change. At this point he is planning to give notice at his state job by the end of the year, and go into business for himself. This is a big step for us, leaving the security of benefits, and retirement, but he is convinced that this is the right time, and I trust that.

So, you can pray for us, and also hold me accountable!! If I come up with anymore hairbrained ideas, PLEASE hollar a huge "NOOOOOO"!!! Thanks :)

Macy!

Well, our decision is made. Thanks to all of you that had input :) We chose little "turquoise" who we have named "Macy". Jasen will be bringing her home from Tennessee on December 18th. She will be staying with Dave & Jenn until Christmas morning. It was very hard to decide because they are all so cute, but she is the one I have been drawn too since the beginning.

The boys have no clue whatsoever, but Jaden said to me the other day "Mommy, you know the thing I most want for Christmas? A Retriever puppy" You don't know how bad I wanted to tell him... but I controlled myself well. Christmas this year is going to be one of those you never forget..... I can't wait :)

Input Please!

So, we are coming to the point of having to pick a puppy. They are all so cute, but I think we have narrowed it down to three. They are now almost four weeks old, and their eyes are just about fully open. We did get our families opinion, what do you guys think? Purple collar, Yellow collar or Turquoise collar?

Ready for Winter!!

It has been unusually cold here for the last 2 or 3 weeks. I think we may be heading into a very cold loooooong winter!! At least my kids are prepared and excited for lots of snow.

Visit from Friends

We had a great visit this afternoon with Bob & Flo Benton, our good friends from Sitka. Bob is here preaching for my Dad while he is gone. They hadn't met the twins, so were anxious to come over and see them. As you can see the kids loved them instantly and didn't seem to be intimidated by Bob's size........he's just a big teddy bear!

Sweet

Becky snapped this picture tonight, I thought it was sweet. Jaden is a great big brother.

Dough Boy!!

Most of you that know us, and our children, know by now that Evan is the little monkey in the family. He is the sweetest, cutest thing, but I can not leave him alone for one minute without him getting into something. Becky was over for dinner tonight, and we were having a nice, actually quite relaxing chat, when Jaden came running in to the living room "oh no mommy look what Evan's doing, he made a big mess!" Sure enough, Evan had made his way into my baking cupboard and this was the result!! Isn't he cute though? :)

Puppy Poll!

Well, our puppy was born last Sunday! For those who don't know we did decide on a Golden Retriever. I know, we said we were looking at a small breed, but everything we looked at just didn't seem to fit our family, especially with having small children. A Golden looks to be a great breed in every way, except the shedding which for those who know me, is going to be a challenge. I am a little obsessive compulsive about my house being clean, so I'm not quite sure how I will handle that. I will figure it out I'm sure :) The pros outwiegh the cons!

Here is a picture of the litter, we are waiting for recent pics before we choose one, but seen as Becky's kitty name poll was so successful I wanted to get everyone involved in our puppy! Any ideas are appreciated, although, before David even suggests it, we are ruling out Beast!

We thought it best to name her before she gets here, otherwise, left up to the boys you never know what it may end up with!! I like Gracie, Jasen is ok with that too, but would like to name it after a tool, go figure!!! Jaden has said he likes the name Madalee, we are open to other suggestions!! Let us know :)

Bragging on Jaden!

Well, as a mother of the four most beautiful children on the planet, I have lots of things to brag about. Today, I want to focus on Jaden. For years Jaden has been terrified of dogs, due to an encounter with Maloneys vicious beast Buddy when he was about 18mos old!! However, since David and Jenn have had Sydney, he has slowly started to overcome his fear. On Sunday we had a major breakthrough, as you can see! Good job Sydney, you did something, none of us ever thought possible :)

On another note, Jaden recently brought home his very first report card from school. We were so proud of him. He is excelling in every area! Most importantly his teacher says he is a joy to have in class, he is a good listener and a good friend!! We love you Jaden :)

Full & Busy Week

Well, this last week has been a little bit of a whirlwind, hence the lack of posts (sorry becky!). However much was accomplished. The daycare opened on Wednesday. The first day was a little stretching, but Thursday & Friday went much more smoothly. I am so grateful for the two wonderful ladies that are working full time at the moment. Monica & Deanna have been a blessing.

On another note my Grandmother & cousin have been visiting from England. the kids have had a great time with them, and I must say I have enjouyed the additional help!! Do you think anyone will notice if I don;t send them home?

Thoughts in the middle of the night!

So, I'm laying in bed at 3:30 this morning sandwiched in between Jasen & Jaden who was up numerous times in the night...thinking, number one, we need a bigger bed, and number two, thinking about exactly how many hours of sleep I have given up for my children over the last 5 years! After much mind boggling, I decided to get up and do something useful :) So, I have been up since about 4:00 working on daycare stuff!! I guess I should thank Jaden for giving me a couple of hours of uninterrupted work time......hey, I just realized, I haven't heard the word "Mama" for two, almost three hours!! AMAZING :)

Just recently we have had a couple of great announcements from our young adult couples! "I'm pregnant" has rung out with much excitement. We are all eagerly awaiting these new little ones, sweet bundles of joy........I have one thing to say. Enjoy your sleep, savor each minute, because 7 or 8 months from now, your life will change forever. You will have no more sleep, it will become a precious commodity. You will hear yourself say to each other, "honey, remember when we used to stay in bed until 10:00am on Saturday morning" or "remember when we used to lay on the couch after dinner and watch a movie?" or the best one "remember when we used to sit together through a whole church service?" Appreciate these times now, you will get them back.....in about 10 years from now!!!!!

I love each of my children will all of my heart, they are a true joy. One of the biggest lessons I have learned over the last 5yrs, is that NOTHING, not even marriage, challenges your ability to be selfless, like a child does :) Can anyone say AMEN? !

So...I think we made our decision!!

Doggy Days!!

So, I'm sure that every parent as gone through the "Can we PLEEEEEEEASE get a dog" stage with their kids. We are going through it right now, and I can seriously say we are being slowly worn down, and actually warming up to the idea. I know most of you are thinking that a dog is the last thing we need right now, but hey, why not add to the craziness, it keeps life interesting!! If anyone has any suggestions or recommendations for any particular type of breed, let us know.....we are thinking SMALL!!! These are a few of the breeds we are looking at!

Jasen refuses to get anything white & fluffy, as he thinks it would be embarassing!!

We are still Alive!!

I am finally getting chance to sit down and post!! This last couple of weeks has been so full, blogging has been at the bottom of my priority list...although I enjoy doing it :)

So, the daycare is ready to go, we are waiting on licensing and should be able to open on the 18th of this month. Here are a couple of pictures of the finished product, I think it turned out really well. The building has undergone a huge transformation. It is great to see it being used for something other than storage!! For those of you that didn't see it before I will post some pictures later!!

Jaden has been collecting bugs, Adam has been making cookies, and the babies have been being just all around cute!!