Snapshots

Mrs. Clause ~

2011-12-18T19:05:00.001-08:00

Our sweet eldest got to play Mrs. Clause in her 2nd Grade school musical this year. It was so fun to watch and Anna followed it up with saying,

"Mom, Dad- I wish I could go to school and just write plays and musicals and let all of my friends be in them, rehearse them and then perform in them together all day long." :)

Getting caught up in photos..

2011-09-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

Rides in Pi Pai's Cobra

Dollywood with Gi Gai

Visit from our California Family

My two Grandmothers together!

Dress-up with Dylan and Penny

Show Me!

2011-06-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to the park near our house the other day and they kept saying, "Look at what I can do!" And so I got out the camera and said, "Okay, we're rolling... Show Me!"

For Lee on Father's Day

2011-06-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day, Trusty!!

2011-05-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

Dear Mommy, we made this video for you...

These are just a few of the things we love about you.

We wrote them down for you so you'd never forget.

Love: Anna, Norah and Jack!

Jack And Cookie Monster!

2011-04-15T11:34:00.001-07:00

Jack has been saying the cutest thing and we managed to get it on video. Enjoy:

And you can visit Lee's new web page here:

Our Weekend

2011-04-13T18:26:00.000-07:00

Had some wonderful visitors this weekend :) Here we are snuggling on the couch watching cartoons with Norah who was having tummy troubles...

My wonderful gardening helpers!

Time on the Trampoline

Paba, Patrick and fam, we love getting to hang out with you!!!

Roller skating

2011-04-13T18:21:00.001-07:00

One night over spring break we got to go roller skating with some sweet friends from church- here are some pics of the fun

Anna and Norah Singing!!

2011-03-30T06:10:00.000-07:00

Here's our girls singing a worship song from Psalm 33!

You can listen here or download it for FREE; so enjoy!

<a href="http://leeyounger.bandcamp.com/track/your-unfailing-love">Your Unfailing Love by Lee Younger</a>

Playing At The Park (Video)

2011-03-18T06:21:00.000-07:00

Here's a little clip of our afternoon at the park. Enjoy!

Mom Song

2011-03-04T05:43:00.000-08:00

Here's a video of Norah singing a song she heard on 'The Cat In The Hat' show. Enjoy!

SNOW DAY!!

2011-01-10T12:00:00.001-08:00

We woke up this morning to a world of white, put on tons o' layers and headed out into the cold for some winter fun...

Snow Day! from James Younger on Vimeo.

A very belated Jack birthday post-

2011-01-07T18:58:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, our darling boy.

We love you so much!

Here are some things that are true of you right now-

You love football and everything that has to do with it.

You love Lightning McQueen from Cars, busting out some air guitar and playing with your sisters.

You are nurturing to their baby dolls. You are learning more words everyday. You scowl a lot at people when we take you out- I think it's all part of being two.

Sometimes it's awkward, but your family knows your sweet side, and I don't mind that you want to hide in my shoulder.

You are quick to say "thank you" and that you are "sorry", even when your sisters are the ones apologizing to you.

You heartily agree to any proposition to go out and do something "Okay!!"

You've stopped eating most of the foods you used to love and are somehow living on crackers, yoghurt and cashews.

Whenever you see a picture of yourself you say, "Baby!"

You've had a second set of tubes put in your ears and your adenoids taken out.

You bring us a lot of joy.

Happy Birthday-

Jack's 2nd Birthday from James Younger on Vimeo.

It's Christmas Time!

2010-12-25T18:12:00.000-08:00

This past week we got to spend some time together with Patty and Patrick and their sweet family before Christmas. Here's a few shots from our "stay-cation" as well as some from Christmas morning at our house with appearances by some wonderful visitors :) Other sweet family that we didn't get to be with today- We love you and miss you and can't wait 'till we can hang out soon!

Josiah singing so sweetly

Working on our Christmas aprons

"Ynightning"

A lot of joy over new underwear :)

Norah's new doll- she's supposed to be Chinese :)

Keira and Ashley kickin' it Christmas style

Yay, Tom and Tina!

New train set from Granddaddy

Karen and Allison

Birthday girl...

2010-10-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

Darling Anna,

You turned seven this year! I can't believe it, and yet in so many ways you are getting so beautifully mature.

You are compassionate to people and animals.

You stand up for people.

You are reading chapter books and loving it.

You still love animals so much, you run around pretending to be them!

You love your baby brother and sister, and us too :)

Jack delightedly shouts, "Annie, Annie!" when you get out of school every day.

You are learning how to work hard.

You remember everything!

You are Norah's best friend.

Your heart is tender, and you love the Lord.

You've been playing pretend "wedding" a lot lately.

You still are so excited about life!

We love you, darling girl.

You are special, and always will be

no matter how you change as you grow.

Anna had her friend Amira over for a birthday dinner

Craft time- thanks for all your help Mom!

Norah picked out this Beaver family just for you- all her own idea!

Extremely cool, real-looking animal from Aunt Jo Jo

Love from Nanna

Yay, Granddaddy and Karen!

Sweetness

Here is the reveal of your big present!

"It's a pet!!"

Happy Dance

Keira and Ashley :)

Thanks to all of the family members who contributed money to buy Anna's birds! She is loving being a pet owner.

Birthday Bash!!

2010-09-28T18:11:00.000-07:00

Well, this year I turned 30...

Enough about that :) - for my present Lee gave me a weekend away with my beloved sister, Patty, in Chattanooga (halfway between our towns). It was Patty's birthday present from her hubby too, and a wonderful respite it was for both of us!!

Here are some shots from our blast of a weekend- we ate out, shopped, went to the movies, talked, laughed, stayed in a lovely hotel room and slept in!!

All of this made possible by our wonderful husbands and fabulous Gi Gai who took great care of the kiddos!

Oh, and when I got home all of the laundry had been done!! Thanks to my sweetie for that!

Destruction!

2010-09-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

Here's a video of Norah and Jack playing at the house. Enjoy!

Destruction! from James Younger on Vimeo.

Bus Driver!!

2010-08-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

Here's a video of Anna and Norah pushing Jackie around on his bus...

Beep, beep

Beep, beep, yeah!!

Bus Driver from James Younger on Vimeo.

Beatboxing

2010-08-07T14:28:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, Jack just has to drop that beat:

Special visit...

2010-07-25T17:52:00.000-07:00

A lot has been going on this past week.

Thanks to our wonderful Granddaddy and Karen (and Austin) watching our kiddos, Lee and I got to go to Chicago to visit our Mission USA missionaries and new brothers and sisters in Christ at "the bridge". It was such a special trip and chance for me, as a Mommy who is usually always doing Mommy things, to get a chance to bond with some of my favorite people in the world who went on the trip and to serve the Lord in a different way.

Then we came home to an Andrew Peterson concert benefitting Emily and Graham's upcoming adoption right here at our own church! As if that weren't enough, we got to hang out the next day with Patty, Patrick and their crew. We went to a splash park in K-town, here are a few pics of that and some other random summer moments.

Josiah doing a little dance :)

A little note Anna wrote and left out for us to find-

Jack's Favorite Game

2010-06-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

Jack loves hiding in the laundry room and then reappearing to everyone's delight... especially his own.

Jack's Favorite Game from James Younger on Vimeo.

He did it!!!

2010-05-25T02:43:00.000-07:00

You all know that Jack recently had the surgery so many babies have where tubes were put in his ears. Our doctor said that before this, Jack basically couldn't hear at all, which really affected his balance. Well, our little guy has finally found his legs this week and simply took off yesterday, taking real, unassisted steps. Way to go, brother!

Jack! from James Younger on Vimeo.

Fine China

2010-04-14T06:25:00.001-07:00

Here is a song Lee wrote for our precious Anna:

He is risen indeed!!

2010-04-04T17:59:00.000-07:00

Matt. 28:5-7

"The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him."

Praise you Lord, for that!!

Here are some shots from our family Easter celebration over @ Kurt and Jodie's.

Norah's Birthday Song

2010-03-25T16:32:00.000-07:00

Norah turned four on January 2. Lee wrote this little song for her birthday. You can listen here or download it for free!

Spring Break!

2010-03-18T17:43:00.000-07:00

Yay! This week we have our sweet Anna home for spring break. The slow pace of just hanging out together has been awesome. Today we went to the Knoxville Zoo, here's a couple of shots from our afternoon :)

Jack checking out the penguin-

The penguin doing likewise :)

Norah, Veteranarian extraordinaire

A Sweet Song

2010-02-27T08:30:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I went to California with my mom and sister... while I was gone, Lee wrote me a song:

Jack and That Head Nod...

2010-02-18T11:57:00.000-08:00

Anytime you turn on a song with a good Back Beat, Jack does this right here:

Jack and That Head Nod from James Younger on Vimeo.

Catching Up...

2010-02-07T18:29:00.000-08:00

Well, lots has been going on around here.

The time came for us to move out of our sweet home for a few months so that they could fix the tree damage. We ended up moving several times, staying a week with my dearest Mom and Grandmother- during which stay our darling Norah had her tonsils and adenoids out and ear tubes in :( They cared for us so sweetly. We finally found a nice apartment to stay in and are settling in. Also thrown in there was a little debit card fraud, new swim lessons for Anna (she's loving them!) and a fabulous trip for me to California to celebrate my mom's side Grandma's 80th birthday! Whew..

Here's some pics of our kiddos on this journey-

Jack hangin' at Gi Gai's

Our poor baby recovering from surgery :(

(look at her sweet little face, o- breaks my heart!)

Anna lovin' her swim lessons

Check out those curls!

The sky is falling!

2009-12-14T18:15:00.000-08:00

Here is an e-mail Lee recently sent to my parents:

Hey folks,

before i begin, let me say that everyone is okay! no one is hurt, but yesterday two trees fell on our house. we had tons of rain early this week coupled with unusually strong winds. yesterday, after going to the grocery store with jack and norah, i returned to the house intending to change jack and put him down. i asked norah to go play in the play room and she said, "No Dad, i can't because i have to go poop." within a few minutes, an ancient and massive oak tree fell and crushed the play room while norah was safely in the bathroom. PTL!! Our Lord moves (bowels) in mysterious ways!

on it's way down, the oak brought down a cherry tree as well. they both landed on the house. thankfully, as the oak tree was landing, a huge branch caught in the ground and broke its fall as it hit the house. everyone says that if it were not for this branch, the house would have been smashed in two. again, PTL!

we didn't even lose power or phone service. the damage (with the exception of the play room and roof) is incredibly minimal for what actually happened. we are blessed. Not only that, but joe pendley (who now has a tree business that works with our insurance agent) came and got rid of the trees in 7.5 hours. all of the professionals said you would have to have a crane and it would still take five days, but joe did it with climbing ropes, a chainsaw and three friends in a matter of hours. again and again, PTL!!!

we stayed at my dad's house last night and will return home tonight. looks like we'll get a new roof out of this. when the construction begins, they will move us out to a furnished apartment or duplex. we don't know when that will be and we're hoping we get to be home for Christmas.

christy is at my dad's house without internet access, or she would be skyping and writing you right now.

we love y'all and are thankful we still have our Norah!! talk to you soon.

cheers,

Lee

Thanks, thanks, thanks...

2009-11-29T17:58:00.000-08:00

So many things to be thankful for, Lord... You are so good.

Time with their great-grand Nan,

and p.s. thanks for the amazing Thanksgiving meal!

A visit from my Dad, so fun! Miss you so, Mom!

Face painting, and just Abby in general!

Fantasy of Trees rocks!

Mmm. Paba and Patrick, Dad and Abby- 'nuff said.

Levi!

My sweet hubby- such a great dad

Siah on wheels

First time on a carousel, for my kiddos that is...

face :)

3 generations of Younger men

Jim and Karen- thanks for the delicious food, yum!

(this is just a funny shot of my lil' man after he got accidently kicked in the face :}

Sisters

So many other friends and fam I am thankful for,

these are just my most recent pics. Love you guys!

A little string around my finger

2009-11-11T15:41:00.000-08:00

Halloween Cuties

Something happened today that I don't want to forget.

This morning we were feverishly scouring the house for Anna's school folder. These folders are extremely important and have to go to school every day in your kid's backpack (plus it had her reading book and a little homework assignment in it too). So, we've looked everywhere - moved the couch, peered into every corner, checked all the rooms. I started getting pretty anxious as the minutes were ticking closer and closer to a tardy and we still hadn't found it.

I wanted to be the kind of awesome parent that stays chill and says, "no matter what happens, Sweetie, everything is going to be fine. The only thing that matters is that God loves you, all of this material stuff could implode on itself and it wouldn't matter."

Instead I felt my anxiety bubbling over onto my little 6 year old's worry-free spirit. Anna stopped where she was and pleaded with me, "Mom, can't we just pray about it?"

Ashamed that I hadn't thought of that before, I jumped on the couch holding my sweet girl and tried to hurry through a prayer as more minutes ticked by that we weren't looking for and finding the folder. In the middle of the prayer an idea popped into my head to look in the TV cabinet. I didn't think much of it, just that that was one place I should probably try looking, as odd as it seems.

When the prayer was over Anna hopped down and ran over to the TV cabinet and said, "Mom, I think we should look in here."

"No way!! 'Cause I think we should look in there too!!"

With baited breath Anna, Norah and I watched as Anna opened the cabinet.

There was the orange folder!

God, you are so good! Thanks for our little miracle this morning, for speaking to a sweet 6 year old and a stubborn, anxious thing like me. I love you.

Getting caught up, in pictures...

2009-10-28T19:33:00.000-07:00

We have had a number of momentous occasions this past month. Anna and Jack both had birthdays, Anna lost her first tooth, and such. Here is a pictorial account of what's been up around here.

Anna kissing her baby pony from Mom and Dad :)

Jack's first blade (from Granddaddy :)

Cake Time

First window ever!

Hilarious shot of Norah getting in on the action

Love it!

Sweeties!

NORAH!!

2009-09-23T07:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a little video of our sweet Norah just laughing, playing, dancing and being her amazing self. Enjoy.

Norah from James Younger on Vimeo.

Family~

2009-09-14T18:18:00.001-07:00

Norah on her first day of Thursday School :)

Fun visit from Grandwoman!

'Siah and Norah playin' around

The girls playing "wedding" in their dresses from Aunt Paba

Abby had such a good time, she seemed to like listening to all of the kid's chatter (or screams, however you like to label it :)

Our lunch @ Panera

Levi snuggling with his Mama during our post-bedtime hang out

Connecting with our school girl, and things I miss...

2009-09-01T16:38:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Anna is loving school! I couldn't be happier for her, but Norah and I are still trying to get used to not having her brightness around the house during the morning hours. My sweet Norah and I are getting good time together though, and I'm thankful for that.

The first couple of afternoons when Anna came home from school I felt like I was either preparing, cooking, eating or cleaning up after dinner and then she was off to bed.

I missed getting to just hang out, talk about the day, and play with her and Norah together. Well, we have tried to change this by going out and doing things together in the afternoons. Some days it happens, others it totally doesn't. One day we went on a hiking adventure, it was drizzling, we were running, smelling wild flowers- I think it was just what we all needed.

Here are some pics showing how we are coping :)

School lunches with Anna

on our hike

One of the things I miss the most about Anna is that when she would wake up from her nap, she would come out and quietly play or color. Sometimes she would color pics for everyone else in the house and then slip the pictures under the door of the sleeper :) (even Jack!)

One night I was cleaning up our room (where Norah had taken a nap that day) and found that Anna had slipped Rosie a pic and it was still on the floor. The pic was of Norah with a pretty dress, shoes and hair-bow to boot!

Here is that picture for Norah and one that she slipped me that same day.

School girl

2009-08-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

first day of Kindergarten girl!

Norah gets the honored post of lunch box carrier

Anna finds her name

Anna with her favorite thing in her new

Kindergarten room: teeny tiny animals :)

Our lil' Anna had her first day of Kindergarten on Monday. We parents had some tears, but our gal was all smiles. She loved it- her teacher, the other kids, and especially the bucket full of teeny tiny dogs and cats she got to play with.

Lately I've been reading the memoirs of the great Corrie ten Boom who survived brutal imprisonment and the horrors of concentration camp during WW II for creating a hiding place for Jews in her house. Some of her words have been encouraging me as I face this new phase in my little daughter's life.

She says "Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see."

Lord, her future is in Your hands, help us to trust You as You grow her into the woman You want her to be.

We love you Anna, and are so proud of you just for who you are.

At the Pool!!

2009-08-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

Paba, Patrick and the kids came up to Tennessee, so we piled everyone up and headed to Granddaddy's new pool!

enjoy!

At the Pool With Fam!! from James Younger on Vimeo.

An Interview With Anna On Art...

2009-07-29T09:35:00.000-07:00

Anna has been doing the coolest drawings... here's an interview complete with some examples of her artwork.

enjoy!

At the Marina

2009-07-27T18:35:00.000-07:00

We took the kids and the new camera to the Marina for a walk... enjoy!

More new pics!

2009-07-13T18:14:00.000-07:00

Sweet new nephew!

2009-07-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

While Lee was gone in Colorado, my sweet little nephew made his entrance into the world! The girls and I drove down to see him and his wonderful family, here are a couple of pics.

Levi Patrick Hull

Look at that cute little face!

Abbers playing with her puzzle

'Siah surveying the pool

And here are a few cute recent pics of the kiddos-

Our Calm before the storm

2009-06-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

Thanks to some of our most wonderful friends we got to get away this past week for 2 days just to be together, our little fam. It was soooooo wonderful! Restful, fun and - just being together. We didn't know it was coming, but as soon as we got home we pretty much all got sick, me with strep throat, Norah and Jack had ear infections, and pink eye touched a few. Thankfully Lee is healthy, please pray he stays that way! But before all that hit and Lee had to leave for Colorado we had this little haven of fun together. It was beautiful, thanks friends! Please pray for me too, when Lee is gone I feel so homesick for him...

A dragonfly that enjoyed our picnic

sweet Jack with daddy

Our two little swimmers- they loved it!

Look at that view... that's all there is to say!

New pics

2009-06-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a really long time since I've posted anything. Sorry about that. Here are some pics to fill in some of the gaps. Anna graduated from her preschool last week, she is Kindergarten bound and couldn't be happier. The other pics are of us hanging out with some fam at Mary's house for Henry's b-day.

Somewhere Beyond the Barn

2009-05-06T17:36:00.000-07:00

Anna just before her kindergarten visit

tickle time

Grandwoman's visit

I've noticed a new phenomenon happening with our little Rosie lately. She loves the Veggie Tale's movie The Wizard of Has, a Veggie portrayal of the story of the Prodigal Son following the pattern of the old classic, The Wizard of Oz.

Well, at the end of the movie the little hero "Darby" goes back home to his dad on the dental floss farm and his Dad runs to greet him, hugging and lavishing love on him- even to the extent of renting a bouncy castle and jumping in it together with his runaway son who had come home. During this part of the movie, and long after it, our little girl just bawls her eyes out. She literally walks around the house singing the songs and crying to herself. I think her sweet heart is so struck by the magic of that story, the love that our Father has for us, and it melts her heart.

In the words of Andrew Peterson, "A thing resounds when it rings true, ringing all the bells inside of you."

This story resounds with you sweet Norah, and we just happened to catch it on video!

Funny things...

2009-04-19T16:51:00.000-07:00

The girls have been providing me with the best entertainment lately with the hilarious things they say, sometimes in the middle of me being in a funk- usually it can help turn my bad attitude around. I've decided I've got to write some of these things down, because I'm forgetting them almost as quickly as they are happening.

Tonight I was reading the girls their bedtime Bible story, we were all huddled on Anna's bed. After the story I started asking them some questions like, 'how do you feel about that?' 'what blessings from God are you thankful for?', etc. Anna's face lit up with delight upon realizing that she had the floor and a willing audience. She started to give an answer, then quickly shot up and ran to the middle of the room. "Wait! Let me just get out here in the middle of the floor and preach a little bit," she said. :)

The other day I was hanging out with Norah (Anna was @ school, Jack asleep) and I started to sing the old Muppet Babies song. I told her all about how I used to love watching that cartoon and how cute baby Piggy and Kermy were. Well, at lunch I found an episode on YouTube and let her watch it. She fell in love with Kermy and kept trying to mimmick his "cute little voice" in her super high pitched tones. When Anna came home from school that day she said, "Anna! Mom, can we show Anna Hermit the frog on that show Muffin Babies?! He's so cute!"

Today at lunch Anna got hurt somehow. Norah put her hand on Anna and said, "Oh, Anna, it's okay. You got a little leprosy?"

Thanks to Nancy, a truly magnificent Sunday School teacher :)

Norah has been saying this thing lately whenever she is particularly pleased with her baby brother, Jack.

"Oh Mom! Jack is so cute, can we go to the store and get another baby just like this one?"

2009-04-16T19:09:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from our Easter, 2009-

Visitors...

2009-03-24T17:29:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful visit from Granddaddy and Karen this past weekend. With playtime and handprints, beans and cornbread, and an excellent Chinese buffet, we had a great time!

Then we had some other special visitors. Our sweet neighbors, the Dowdys, played Easter bunny and hid some eggs in our yard. The girls were ecstatic!

Last but not least we had a visit from some wild creature in our yard that got to one of the eggs before we could! The egg was all muddy with the evidence of eaten chocolate lying next to it. Some woodland creature out there has a sugar-high thanks to us! Bet our yard is their fav now :)

Pi Pai and Gi Gai!

2009-03-17T18:29:00.000-07:00

We have been so blessed to have my wonderful Mom in the States and my sweet Dad has been able to pop in and visit too- Yeah!! Here are some shots of them with our kiddos.

Norah getting a hair cut (sucker as bribery to stay still)

Special helper Anna cutting her favs- green beans

Baby burrito cared for by Norah's tender touch

Jack's first eats

2009-03-11T18:14:00.000-07:00

Well, I know it's a little early. Jack's only 5 months old, but we just had to let him try some cereal the other day. That little dude has been watching us eat at mealtimes with the most longing, excited little following eyes I've ever seen. We couldn't wait to see if he was going to love eating solid food as much as he looked like he would. It's safe to say, he didn't disappoint! Here are some pics-

Here's a few shots of the girls at a new playground just a block or so from our house!

Hen and Mags

2009-03-09T18:07:00.000-07:00

My Cuz was baby-sitting sweet Henry and Maggie the other day and we got to hang out at the park with them. The kids had fun climbing all around, swinging, sliding, snacking and playing a game where they ran together from tree to tree (they picked the farthest trees ever!). I'm pretty sure they got in a good mile :)

Makin' Cookies!

2009-02-01T04:32:00.000-08:00

Paba and Patrick got Anna a cookie making kit for Christmas and yesterday we busted it out. We almost didn't have any cookies to decorate, bake and eat due to the eating of dough by little girls... Here's a video of our experience from start to scrumptious!

2009-01-21T04:45:00.000-08:00

SNOW!

Anna and Norah were SOOOO excited to wake up to a world of white. They ate breakfast so fast and giggled like mad while we put on layer after layer... finally I opened the front door and the jubilant screams of little girls bombarded our new street. Get ready Darwin Road, the Younger girls are here and they're PUMPED!

Here's a little video of our wintery fun!

A grand time had by all...

2009-01-13T19:57:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday night Lee and Nino played a concert of original songs at Brown Cup Coffee. It was so much fun for those of us that got to sit back and enjoy, probably not as much fun for the musicians trying to make themselves heard above the whir of the espresso machine. Lydia (aka Grandwoman) made the trip up to see the concert and the kids. It was wonderful having her here to hang out with and play a couple furious games of Dutch Blitz (a vonderful goot game).

Jack looking cute in his outfit from Aunt Jo Jo... right before he blew it out (and Grandwoman's outfit too)

All smiles :)

Morning at Nan's

2009-01-12T17:21:00.000-08:00

Nan and Jack snuggling

Tommy and Maggie

Maggie Blue-Eyes

Smoochin Anna

Norah and Henry playing with glass :)

Mary and Mags lovin' on Jack

Norah Turning 3!

2009-01-06T07:10:00.000-08:00

Here are Norah's comments about her big day:

"I liked to sing Keep Cool Boy, and you just learned me how to sing it. I liked to, um, look at this green on my computa".

We had fun that day. Norah got a princess bike, soccer ball, and a helmet and pads from Gi Gai and Pi Pai. Our friend Lauren came to babysit Jack so that Lee, Gi Gai and I could take the girls to the movies. It was Rosie's first time ever and the look of awe and delight on her face as she sat on her booster and munched popcorn was something I hope I never forget. Turns out 3 might be a little young for the movies. As The Tale of Despereaux progressed, so did Norah's trips to the potty, all the while commenting, "I want this to be over". :) It was a fun memory anyway! Then we all went out for Vietnamese food, then home for cupcakes.

A Day From H-E-Double Hockey Sticks...

2009-01-05T17:45:00.000-08:00

Well, mercifully I am not posting a picture of this day.

If I did, it would have a screaming, wide eyed infant, a bawling 3 year old, pee on the floor, laundry and toys covering every available surface, and me- crying and tearing my hair out.

It really wasn't that strange of a day, just my patience was worn so thin, and dear little Jack decided not to sleep all day long (well, pretty much). He was not happy to be awake either. I tried absolutely everything, and I have a lot of tricks. Walking with the baby wrap, walking with the swaddle looking at Christmas lights, rocking in the swaddle, out of the swaddle too, crying it out in the crib, crying it out in the crib with the vacuum running- Nothing worked. He screamed through all of it, the majority of the time right in my ear. With Norah crying and tugging on me too, I was in a pure state of rage when my poor hubby got home. I grabbed his keys and my running shoes as he walked in the door and kicked a water bottle that happened to be in my way as hard as I could as I ran from our house.

It is really depressing to face this truly dark side of myself during excruciatingly tough times. While I was out I listened to a Focus on the Family podcast called "The Sacred Role of Parenting". The guest that day, Gary Thomas, said something that really encouraged me.

"Our weakness becomes a strength when we use it to transfer our kid's allegiance from us to God."

As a parent all I can do is love my kids, try to point them toward God, and be honest about my many weaknesses. It comforted me to go home that night and say, "I screwed up, I was so impatient and angry today. I am so sorry. You have a Father in Heaven who never loses his patience with you. We can all just keep trying to follow Him."

I am so glad that my Father is still working on this mess of a heart of mine. My sweet children, be patient with me as you dodge the orange and white cones all around, He is working on me.

Thank you Lord, for that!

Anna in concert

2009-01-04T18:47:00.000-08:00

Our sweet Anna has been going to preschool this year two days a week, and she loves it! We got to go see her in a Christmas concert with Nan. She was so delighted, it was a blast to watch her happy face. This was a BIG change for her compared with her concert behavior in the past- namely melting down and bawling on stage from fright (I'll have to see if I can dig up that video:)

Norah sat on Nan's lap and loved watching her big sis, she kept asking, "Mom, can I go to this school next year?"

More Christmas!

2009-01-04T18:32:00.000-08:00

Here's another wonderful Christmas visit with family- Aunt Jo Jo, Granddaddy and Karen! They brought loads more gifts with them and we had a whirlwind of cookie eating (thanks to Aunt Jo Jo- baker extraordinaire), paper, bows, and yes, even a Hannah Montana wig!

Rosie got lots of dress-up, her fav!

Gorgeous couple :)

So sweet-

Anna got a Dora digital camera- she loved it! Here's a picture she took of Wall-E.

Handsome boys!

Christmas in the air-

2008-12-31T19:54:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics from our Christmas time with Mom, Patty (and new babe!), Patrick, Abby and Siah. We had soooooo much fun, but missed my Dad who is working hard in China (Proud of you Buddy!). My sweet sis, Paba, was such a trooper even though she is suffering from intense nausea all the time. She is my hero right now, poor girl. This was a wonderful Christmas, it was so fun to watch all of the kids excited faces.

Special visit...

2008-12-31T19:50:00.000-08:00

I found these pics from a while ago from a special visit from Grandwoman and Aunt Jo-Jo. We love you guys, thanks for driving up!

Some family pics!

2008-12-14T18:29:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics our dear friend Erin took of our growing family this Christmas season. God is so good, I am thankful for these precious faces.

Fun with a Pumpkin!

2008-11-03T17:47:00.000-08:00

The girls and I had great fun this Halloween scooping guts out of a pumpkin! The squishy seeds and stringy pumpkin hair were a big hit. The girls were super excited about carving our Jack-o-lantern's face too- Anna drew the eyes, Norah the nose and I got to do the mouth.

Here are our two beautiful butterflies!

...and our new baby bumblebee!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

Baby Jack!
Jack Campbell Younger was born at 3:44AM on October 16... here are a few pictures and a video!

Happy Birthday to our darling Anna!

2008-10-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

Anna, you turn five today! We couldn't be happier to be your parents, the Lord has blessed us richly, sweetest.
This movie has Anna's current favorite song accompanying it, 4th of July, by Ben Shive.

Recent Pics of our Fam

2008-09-23T17:49:00.001-07:00

Here are couple of the fawns that like to eat little crab apples in our yard. There are 3 of them and 3 does that usually travel together around our new yard. So cool!

Cinderella...

2008-09-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

Today I finished listening to a 3 part podcast interview with Stephen Curtis Chapman by Dr. James Dobson. I was on the elliptical machine at the gym finishing it up and bawling (no exaggeration) for all to see. I figured if anyone asked, I could just chalk it up to pregnancy hormones. SCC was talking about the sweet spirit of his little girls and how much they longed to dress up like princesses and dance around like they were at the ball. I played his song "Cinderella" for my girls when we got home and Norah became obsessed. I captured a few minutes of our sweet girl dancing her heart out. May I never forget all that her joyous abandon teaches me.

Happy Birthday Paba and Abby!!

2008-09-23T17:25:00.000-07:00

Sam and Mary Ann had a party down at the Marina to celebrate our two special girl's birthdays! It was so fun - here are a few pics.

The Zoo

2008-09-23T17:17:00.000-07:00

A dear friend of mine gave our family a Zoo pass for my birthday last year, it ended up being the best thing ever. Here are some pics of us at our favorite haunt!

Anna took this one!

Sweet girls-

2008-08-13T18:30:00.000-07:00

Family Time

2008-08-13T18:08:00.000-07:00

In the hustle and bustle of things lately, I totally forgot to post these precious pics from the few blissful days we got to spend with Patty, Patrick, Abby and Josiah in July. I look forward to that time together all year, and it was so wonderful. Seeing my precious niece and nephew as they grow and watching them play with my kiddos is one of my favorite pass times. Only wish PiPai and GiGai could've been with us!

Our new babe

2008-07-16T17:06:00.000-07:00

Wow, the past few weeks have been crazy. With trying to get our house ready to sell, potty-training, and being sick (just a yucky cold) I haven't had much energy or eloquence to post lately. I wanted to put some special pics on here for sure though. My Aunt Jodie was sweet enough to scan my belly today and show us some 4D ultrasound pics of our little guy. Here they are as well as a few pics of my special girls.

Recent Pics

2008-06-12T17:49:00.001-07:00

Father's Day...

2008-06-12T17:19:00.000-07:00

The other day as I was driving I was listening to a Focus on the Family podcast about how important it is for children to have parents that "bless" them - tell them how important and significant their lives are, how much they are loved, validate their efforts, etc. Dr. Dobson mentioned how this is especially important for little girls to get this kind of loving support from their dads. Little girls that don't receive this from their dads while they are young often have a super hard time having successful relationships later on in life.

I just thanked the Lord right then and there. He knew exactly what He was doing when he sent us our two girls. I can't imagine a better father for girls to have than my Lee. Thank you babe, for the way you love me and the security that gives them. Thanks for the way you love to be with them, publish their drawings, and care for them.

As for me and my own dad, I can't even remember a day going by when he didn't say,
"Have I told ya' today? I love you."
Thanks Dad and Mom, your love and support gave me such a firm foundation.
And Heavenly Father, your love gives me life and all that I need.

My baby loves to dance

2008-05-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

Tonight my thoughts are on my little Norah Rose... She's two, and there have been a lot of difficult times of "learning" for that sweet girl lately. That little babe is so stinkin' cute at the same time though. I thought I'd take a minute to record some of the things she's been doing and saying lately.
Norah has never liked getting wiped down after messes. She's been using the potty some lately and one time when she missed, I had to wipe down her little legs and feet. When I got to her feet she looked up indignantly and said,
"No Mom, stop it! Don't wipe my feet, they're 'beauful'!"

The other day Norah was just having one of those days where she was having to be disciplined a lot, and she developed a new phrase that she said to me after each new episode.
"Mommy, you not bein' bery nice to me!"

Sweet Rose bud, you are 'beauful' just as you are, but sometimes I have to wipe you. How I wish that you would always think me the world's nicest Mommy, but you won't. I love you, and care about the woman you will grow into- hang with me babe, I love you forever.
You are such a cutie 2 yr old. You love to dance like crazy to "God Made Me", go outside and kick the 'soccer field', and every once in a while you will let me hold you, stroke your bouncy curls and get the sweetest wet kisses. I love you girl!

Out of my sickness...

2008-05-18T18:07:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I dropped off the face of the earth for the past 3 months. I'm not very good at keeping up with this blog normally, but add all day long nausea and puking and you get.. no word from me for a really long time :)

Our little family is growing, which is awesome- and also the reason for the sickness. The last few months have been a dark time for me, impossible and undesirable to recount. Only the mercy of our Lord, the love of my tender husband (who took over all of my jobs), and the generous friendship of our church family and friends who took the girls, fed them, loved and entertained them and sent us food home too have gotten us through that time of sickness. But through it we are, hopefully..

One of the first well days I had, I remember washing dishes in the sink and listening to my ipod. The first song that shuffled up was this-

Out of my bondage sorrow and night,

Jesus, I come, Jesus I come.
Into Thy freedom, gladness and light
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of my sickness into Thy health,
Out of my want and into Thy wealth,
Out of my sin and into Thy-self
Jesus I come to Thee...

Out of earth's sorrows into Thy balm,
Out of life's storms and into Thy calm,
Out of distress to jubilant psalm,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

Lord, you give the sweetest presents to us... Thank You for being the One we can go to, no matter what we are coming out of.

2008-05-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

A Summertime Video!

Hey there, this is Lee. In case you didn't know, Christy has been super-duper sick for the past three months because she's carrying our third baby, and so she hasn't been able to post in ages.

Well, I made this little video and she asked me to post it here for her, so enjoy!

Visit with our peeps

2008-02-27T16:49:00.000-08:00

Last week the girls and I drove down to visit Paba, Patrick, Abby and 'Siah... Being with them is always such an amazing pick-me-up. The kiddos love being together, here's a little taste of our time together.

Dress-up Day

2008-01-31T16:22:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while we get out the big bin of dress-up stuff at our house. The girls looked so precious, here's a peek into that world :)

Norah's First Two Years

2008-01-24T18:01:00.000-08:00

Here's a movie I made for you, sweet Norah Rose. It's kinda' long I know, but I just couldn't cut any more out.
Explanation for the crazy Billy Joel song (2nd song): Your Dad and I liked this song before we ever knew you. It's how you got one of your kazillion nicknames, Rosalinda!

Words from Anna

2008-01-24T17:53:00.001-08:00

My sweet Anna-bear. I had to write down some words that came out of your little 4-yr-old mouth yesterday. I was in the kitchen buttering some bread and I heard you say,
"Mom, I am rich."
I said something like, "Cool, babe," not quite sure what you meant.
"I have my favorite Boy living in my heart," you said.

The other day at Panera you informed me that your favorite boy in the whole world was Jesus.
"But, He's everybody's favorite boy. Except maybe Satan," you said to be exact :)

Oh precious girl, how your faith spurs me on; more than you'll ever know.

Norah's Special Day

2008-01-15T17:53:00.000-08:00

Here's a gorgeous little movie that Lee made for our girl's special day.
Hey, if anyone out there wants to leave a special message for Norah Rose, I know she would love to read it years from now.

Darling Norah, you are 2!

2008-01-13T17:35:00.000-08:00

My beautiful girl, Norah Rosey... I can't believe you are two. Just look at that face! You are simply bursting with life. You make simple things so beautiful to the rest of us just by your explosive excitement about them. You love the opening scene of the Lion King, marshmallows, your sister, singing and dancing, using your little potty, seeing your daddy come home from work, and (I feel so lucky) me as well.

Our Lord knew what He was doing when He gave us you. What in the world would our little family do without the love and acceptance you bring to us every day? Thank you, my darling girl, for who you are. Thank you, Lord, for these two years.

Please stay tuned for some Birthday videos!

Thanksgiving...

2007-11-22T19:36:00.000-08:00

Thank you, Lord, for all of these precious gifts.

Another Video From California!

2007-11-09T16:47:00.000-08:00

Here we are hanging out at Papa and Patrish's house...

The kids all had such a blast on the hammock and we played zone defense to keep them out of the pool!

Trick or Treat

2007-11-02T18:26:00.000-07:00

Here are the girls all dressed up to go trick or treating. They had an amazing time running around in the dark with their friends collecting candy! What could be better than that, huh?

Uncle Tom with Henry, the cow!

The girls with their friends Mady and Tobi~

We LOVE the Zoo!

2007-11-02T18:03:00.001-07:00

One of our dear, sweet friends gave us a family Zoo pass. We have so enjoyed going to hang out there with all of the beasts!

Kickin' it at the Park!

2007-10-10T07:14:00.000-07:00

Here's the next video from our trip to California!! We went to the most awesome park and the kids had so much fun!