Everett Turns 3!

For Everett's third birthday party we had a carnival themed party. We had carnival games, corn dogs, face painting, and pies. Last year Everett cried while we sang the Happy Birthday song, but this year he enjoyed being sung to throughly! There was a lot more stress that came with getting the party started than what I was anticipating like not being able to cook the food very fast, forgetting to put out some decorations, and not being able to find my camera's memory card(thus the phone pictures and stolen ones from my mom's camera). But over all I think it turned out pretty good mostly because of the help from friends and family! 

P.S. we had an outdoor movie planned too, but because of things getting started late and not being able to get the sound to work the movie was started just about in time for little ones to head home for bed. We still enjoyed it anyway! and hope to do another one too before the weather gets cold!

Hello.

Its been quite a few months since I've blogged, in fact, its been quite a few months since many things. But everything is slowly starting to get back to normal and I'm so thankful for that. If you don't know(which you should by now from the obvious picture) I'm about 18 weeks pregnant. The last few days I've been feeling actual blunt kicks from this tiny thing inside me, and I can't help but smile every time! I was extremely ill for the first 14 weeks and just plain nauseous until I hit week 17. So I've been completely medication free and mostly nausea free for a week now and I'm so, so thankful. It seems like every time we go through hard or dark times we end up being so much more thankful and loving life so much more once we start seeing the light again and that's totally how I feel!
This pregnancy is also flying by! It's hard the believe that in only two short weeks I'll already be halfway through! I want to enjoy it as much as possible, before the arrival, but I also CAN NOT wait to meet this baby... especially after seeing all the beautiful new borns lately! It seems like there's a HUGE baby boom this year. In fact not only do I have a few friends due really close to me but my cousin, Rachel, and I share THE EXACT SAME DUE DATE! It still seems so crazy, after knowing for this for a while. It's something that couldn't have happened if we planned it! I love her so much and am beyond excited that we get to share this together!
Anyway, one more pregnancy related topic before I go: in a little over 2 weeks we get to find out the babies gender, so I'll be here to reveal that, if not before. For now, I have a certain someones 3rd birthday to get ready for!
Thanks for reading! xo -Liz

Our Easter Sunday

It was such an enjoyable Easter this year! It's so much fun to experience the excitement of the holiday through a child's eyes isn't it?! We spent the first half of the day at my grandparents(grandma & grandpa spider Webb's to Everett) enjoying lots of food, family, friends, and fun. The second half of the day we spent repairing our fence, but more on that later.

 

Camp Runamuck

This last weekend we celebrated my nephew, Isaiah's, 8th birthday. My SIL, LaRae, did a camping themed party and it turned out so great! smelling like camp fire smoke in the middle of the day made me want to go camping for real though! My sister got some more pictures that she posted here.

More Things

pretty clouds and my cool dude

I think I might start a habit of randomly writing random things on here, it's my favorite thing to write about!
Just a quick note: A lot of people here, locally, have heard about the gas explosion in town. And I keep hearing more, and more little bits of the story. I saw the black billows as I was headed home, leaving my sister-in-Law's, and then saw the giant flames as I was directed through a back road. It was a pretty terrible incident. Our friends, Aaron and Corey, lived in the second house that caught on fire. Everything of theirs was demolished, but I'm especially thankful that no one's life was taken.

On a more positive note, my Dad showed me this short film/documentary last night and it really gives me an itch to get out and start filming a few things and hopefully have an adventure along the way :)

Things

I haven't been on here in a while kinda on purpose, I've been trying to sort out some things in my life lately as to what's Important, to what's not so important. Blogging and reading blogs is definitely one of my favorite things to do when I'm on the internet, but I've spent more time blogging than I care to share. It really is a task to keep up with regularly and takes a lot of motivation. I really, really like being able to come back here and remember all the little things I've documented over time, but I feel like I need to quit trying to keep up on here and reprioritize my time spent on things a little more.
Anyway, with all that said and out of the way, moving on to the next thing. My new little Niece, Emery, arrived on the eighth this month and she's so beautiful and perfect! Congratulations to My brother and Sister-in-Law on their new addition!

On a different note, I know I've mentioned on here before about my internet Bible study group(that's the best way to explain it) but I'd like to repost something I wrote on there onto here 1) because I stayed up really late writing it and 2) It's a private group so I can't post a link or anything. I really don't share anything about spiritual thoughts on here, because I know that people can become very offended about beliefs and it's also a pretty personal thing for me... something I don't like to talk about unless someone asks, because I'm almost sure it will end with some sort of a verbal fist fight haha, but anyway here you go:

"I've heard this verse over and over since I was little, but I've never really heard a REAL definition of it.
"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2" I've also heard a version stating, "do not conform to the patterns of this world." When I started thinking about patterns of this world, the first things that came to my mind was how we (the world) has this unbroken pattern to work hard every day to afford all our fancy things. Our cars, our houses, necessities, the Never ending list. I've been thinking about this because, having these things does have a sort of happiness, but short lived ones. I feel like I'm always looking for more, I don't know, maybe I'm weird, but I feel like there may be more to living this life beyond working jobs that most of us hate just to afford our short lived happiness'. Do you think God MAY BE telling us with this verse to quit these patterns of sort lived happiness', maybe even quit our full time, tiring, stressful jobs, that we only have for the money. Maybe to forget about the money and the worldly things and work at something just because you love it? Just because your work is pleasing to you and god which in turn pleases those around you? I know that most people's way of thought is, "I have to provide for my family, it's my responsibility." well, what if we all started living with less to quit the "patterns" of this world? It seems like, outwardly, most people are satisfied with this day to day routine, work, school, buy, continue... But I most certainly feel like there's more to our lives, of course, family, friends, love, but you owe it to all that stuff to make yourself happy if only for the sake of those your around most. Don't work yourself to death. Quit striving for richness. I personally feel you(and especially your children) will learn to be thankful beyond belief. (I'm preaching mostly to myself). When I was young, we lived with very little. I of course had no idea that we lived differently than most, I was a naive kid, but I know now that I think back on it. My dad worked way too many hours to try and keep up with his family but as I grew, I know now that it made me a little different. It made me more thankful, i think, yes, but I feel like it also helped me to try and look past some wordily things. To think less about the physical things I want and more about what other things this life has to offer. I think the gift of that for a kid is much more valuable than anything a full time job can afford to give them. 
I'm not saying we should all live like the poor people in Africa, but more like to QUIT this world. Maybe to work at something you love and not even often enough to get burnt out on it.
I've heard about a study of the "happiest people in the world" and most of them live with just a little less to live an easy life, to be able to spend more time with their family and do what they really want to work on.

I often wonder what it would be like to have to live without one thing, like a car. And use my bike instead, but I always decide against abandoning the bumper to bumper, cursing at the car ahead of you, comfortable drive because of the inconvenience, but I think I might really try to challenge myself with this. Stuff like this would be hard. Giving up these THINGS, but what does it do for you in the long run, if you had to live with one less thing, like a car? How would living with a little less affect you, and more importantly, those around you like your children, even future children? 
It is Sunday morning, so I hope you enjoyed this little sermon, but I'd really like to read about your thoughts on this subject and verse. What do you think this verse portrays?"

currently.

Postponing everything to work and play outside

loving... This spring weather. I'm going to brag a lot and say we've been having pretty amazing weather here lately. In fact, yesterday it snowed most of the day and decided to go sledding in decent temperatures. While today, the snow has disappeared in town and I'm wearing a t-shirt, soaking up the sun. Our temperatures are supposed to get up into the fifties by this weekend. I'm not gonna lie, I've been pretty over this fridged weather for a long time now, so I'm in a pretty happy place right now. I've been working out in the yard during every nice day we've had so far and I still have a long way to go, but I'm really happy with how much I've dug up, broken down, pulled, raked, shoveled, and trimmed!


Thinking about…  So many things at once! But I'll just choose one topic for now. One of my favorite childhood friends is headed off to New Zealand for quite a while, and I had to say good-bye to her last night. It's always so sad to see someone you love leave, but I'm SO HAPPY for her that she gets to go experience something so cool! I can't wait for her to come back with all her cool stories to share!


Watching... I found the Friends seasons three for the price of one. So I've been watching them a little every evening. It's my guilty pleasure show for sure.


Wishing... That Fruits and Vegetables were just plain.. well fruits and vegetables. I'm so tired of hearing about all these bad things we do to them. A normal, organic, Non-genetically altered food has to be labeled with all this information just to tell you it's a normal plant that was never messed with. I know it's all more "efficient" to change them, but really, I'm ready to just buy a food and it be just plainly a normal whole food.


Listening to… Liam Finn

eating... Roasted beets, cucumbers, spinach, and my homemade mustered/balsamic dressing... Tastes so much better than it sounds.