Snow Storm

Well, things are pretty wintery here in Ketchikan. We are expecting a big snow storm tonight, that is expected to dump up to 18 inches of snow. Here is my deck railing right now, we'll see how it looks in the morning!! The wind is really picking up, and the sky is really gray, so maybe this time the weather man will be right.

Big Helpers

Saturday was a good day for the kids. The boys went to the job site to "help" Daddy dig!! When they arrived home we had to peel their clothes off, but that's ok, they are boys!! As for the twins, they are VERY helpful in numerous ways, as you can see, they love to help feed the dog (they sometimes get it in the bowl), they also love to help finish up their borthers dinner leftovers.

Time Away

As most of you know, my parents are in Florida for a 3 month sabbatical. It will be good for them to have time away. We are blessed to have Paul & Wanda Radford here for that time. Mom & Dad have a pretty busy schedule for the first few weeks. My Nana & Aunt are currently there, visiting from Britain. After their two week stay, my Mom & dad are driving up to DC to fly out themselves to Britiain to celebrate my Grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. They fly back to DC and spend a couple of days with the Maloneys, and then drive back to Florida making a couple of stops on the way. Whew!! I think after that packed 4 or 5 weeks they will be staying put for the rest of their time. We are going down to visit them at them end of April.

So, in light of the fact that they are gone for so long, I will probably be posting lots of kids pics on the blog!! Hopefully you don't get too bored, but the Grandparents interests come first :)

The Boys

Blogworthy pics!

Things have been pretty quiet here over the last week or so, well, as quiet as things can be with 4 children running around. All four were sick with the cold cough yuck bug, but are doing better now. Jaden ran into a little trouble last weekend, when he fell and split his head open. Thankfully we know a wonderful nurse that makes house calls, so she came over and glued it together!

I put Leah's hair in pigtails for the first time! They stayed in for about 30 seconds, at least long enough for me to get a picture. Of course Evan wanted his done too, I obliged much to Daddys dismay!!

Jenn left this week for Chicago and then on to D.C. to visit with her parents, Dave is joining her there. Mom & Dad leave for Florida this week, for 3 months. We are hoping to go down and visit at some point, it would be nice to get some warm sunshine.

Anyway, enough rambling, enjoy the pics.

:)

Sunny Day!!!

YAY!! We finally saw the sun today after many, many, MANY long days without a peek!! We took advantage of the day and spent some time outside in the yard. The twins didn't quite know what to do with all of the open space and fresh air :) It was very refreshing to be able to take them outside and do something different!

Ooka Doo!

Last week, Evan came up with a new word "ooka doo". Of course as most parents know, trying to translate toddler talk into the English language can sometimes be a challenge. Finally after much pointing on Evans part and much frustration on ours we figured out "Ooka Doo" is Uncle Dave!!

David has been called a number of things over the years, "Da" "D" "Uncle D" and finally Jaden & Adam settled on plain old "Uncle Dave". I have to say that Evan definitely wins the prize for most original pronunciation of Uncle Dave.

Young Adults

Over the last four years Jasen & I have had the privilege of being involved in leading the young adults group at our church. When we took over leadership, the majority were single, and there were no babies in the picture other than Jaden. My, have things changed!! It has been such a joy for us to be involved with these people, they have been so much fun, and have all grown so much. As a group we have fund raised, retreated, had fellowship over meals, traveled to Mexico on a missions trip, had lots of laughs, seen some tears (mostly on the girls side!) and made lasting friendships.

So, now we reach a point of "we are not young adults anymore"!! We figured once babies started appearing in bulk, it was time for us to move on. Jasen & I prayed over this decision and sought council from leadership. Many of the young adults were also beginning to feel the need to really get plugged into the church body, commit to bible studies and prayer meetings, essentially "grow up". Jasen & I will always be available to this group, and they all know that. We are praying the the older people in our congregation would step up and encourage these ones in their walks, and give them the support and encouragement they need. There are so many that already do that and we are very thankful for them.

Tonight we all got together for dinner at our house, and formally "disbanded" the current young adult group. Unfortunately, the Cookes were not with us, but they have been such a big part of things, they can;t go unmentioned!! We pray that one of these young couples may feel the burden to take on the "real" young adults of our congregation, those without spouses and children!!

FUDGCICLE FACES!!!

IT'S GREAT TO BE A KID!!

It's Official!

Well, effective February 2nd Jasen will no longer be a State of Alaska employee. He officially handed in his notice today. This step is a huge one for us, but one we know is right and will be good for our family. Please pray for us through the transition, I'm sure there will be some "moments"!

Jasen has been on leave for the past month working on an extensive project for my parents. It will take him through the end of February first part of March. We are getting everything lined up for his business, there is alot to think about, but it is coming together :)

Happy Birthday Adam!

Four years ago today, I was laying in a hospital bed totally shocked that we had another little boy....we all thought Adam was going to be a girl! He has been such a joy for us to watch grow, he is such a sweet boy, with a tender personality, and quite the character too!!

Party pics to follow tomorrow!!

Tennessee (just for Ted!)

Two weeks before Christmas, Jasen headed down to Nashville Tennessee for his friend Ted's wedding. The breeder we bought Macy from was also in the area, so he picked her (the dog, not the breeder!) up the same weekend.

It was Jasens first visit to Nashville. There is such a huge emphasis on music which he enjoyed, and the people there were very warm and friendly. I think it is definitely a place we will put on our "places to consider moving to" list when the time comes!

He got to do a little sightseeing, he toured The Gaylord Opry Hotel, which was incredible. He also took a couple of hours to walk around downtown Nashville at night and listen to the different live bands play. Next time, I get to go!!

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!!