bouncin' around

my little benny buddy just enjoying some bounce time. his friend kade is letting him borrow this awesome bouncer. he is really getting the hang of bouncing up and down. such a cutie he is!

family pics

many of you have commented on the new pics that i have posted. wanted to make a collage of some of the other pictures that we had taken. i was happy with most of them. hope that you enjoy. i have such cute boys!!!

sulli scissorhands

this post will be all about my little man sulli. oh, the things that he does and says. first off, i need to talk about our morning. sulli is fascinated by all the baby toys and equipment. i heard him yelling, "mom, help!" as i was in the office. i walked out into the living room where we have a baby jumper. sulli had climbed into the jumper and had gotten himself stuck. he has been told numerous times before not to climb on this jumper or get in it because he is too big. this was time out #1. the above pictures are evidence of time out #2. ben happened to brown back himself and required bathing. when this was happening, sulli found his way into the office and into his daddy's chair. he then found a pair of scissors and decided to retrify (80s) his pants. he now has holes all the way down both legs (sorry jamie...not getting these back in good condition). he was supposed to be going to the park with his arranged marriage bride but that priviledge was taken away...and to the time out step he went. you can see the joy in his face. his other punishment is that he has to wear these pants all day long. he wanted to take them off and get "new ones". but i am making him wear them so that he is reminded of his dirty deed all day long.

now on to language lessons with sulli! he says the funniest stuff. there are a few favorites that i have at the moment. his way of saying forgot is "dot-for". for example, "oh mom, we dot-for my hat at church!" his word for relax is "porlax". he was laying on the ground and i couldn't quite see what he was doing. i asked him what he was doing and he replied, "i'm just porlaxing". i ask him to do me favors every once in a while like throwing away poopy diapers or grabbing a burp cloth. the other day he crawled up into my lap and said, "mom, will you do me a favorite. will you go and get my bike, the monster is trying to take it." now he asks me to do "favorites" all the time.

after sulli goes to time out, he has to apologize for whatever he did and say, "i will not_____". if i ask him not to do something he now says, "ok mom, i not will." so funny how they mix words up but still get the main point across. he is such an adorable kid but also quite challenging. we have our fair share of time outs but we also have our fair share of laughs. he has officially entered into the questioning phase, "what's that? what's his names? what's he doing? can i have it? can i want it?" and on and on and on!!!

finding my feet

My little Ben achieved a milestone yesterday. His feet found his mouth. It is hard to catch this on camera right now as they don't stay in his mouth very long. He is such a cutie! He is a smiler and talks quite a bit now, especially when he is tired or just waking up. He will be 5 months next week. I can't believe how fast time goes. Love this baby!!!

you've got a friend!

memorial day weekend brought us fun times with great friends. saturday night we had erik, tracy, and ainsley over for ribs. i know that it is not right to push relationships on your children, but now being a mother...i am all in favor of arranged marriages. so, mark your calendars for july of 2031 for the wedding of sullivan and ainsley. oh by the way...the cake was yummy!

we then were blessed with a visit from our children's God family. Sulli and Hudson show off their cool jammies. Uncle Fred read bedtime stories, and Aunt Jamie got to cuddle with baby Ben. It was wonderful to have them here to help Evan celebrate his 32 birthday. We went to a home team BBQ on Monday night and celebrated with all of them as well. We are so blessed to have amazing friends. God is so good to us.

twin falls visit

so last time that i posted was letting you know about my grandfathers death. this post is all about the time we spent in twin before, during and after grandpa's service. these first pics are of sulli with his "frog hunting" light. he and his nana and papa went hunting for frogs along the ditch bank at night. he had a great time.

may 15th, the day before my dad's 60th birthday, we through a surprise birthday party for him. thought that doing it the day before all of the extended family arrived might be a bit less stressful for dad. he had no idea why his friends kept showing up saying "happy birthday". he finally looked at me and i winked. he then knew what was going on. sulli was right there to help papa blow out his candles. mom was in the kitchen with her girlfriends sue and dar. what great women.

sulli played around in a fire truck that i played in as a child. my dad found it for me at a garage sale when i was young. he hung on to it...such a great memory! the close up of sulli is evidence of his first big digger. we took a walk down to the falls with my sister, her boyfriend and some cousins. sulli found some cool obsidian rocks and had put them in his pocket. he had both hands in his pockets playing with his rocks when he fell. with no hands to catch his fall, his chin did the work. poor kid was such a trooper. good war wounds to show though.

sulli is looking at the great scenery with his uncle carey (sister laurie's boyfriend) whom he adores. pretty cute. he was previously known as uncle "terry" since sulli couldn't say his "k" sound. but now that he has mastered the "k", carey it is. the falls were running beautifully. glad that we were able to see them going. laurie and carey look good with kids, don't you think??? first things first though...let's not get ahead of ourselves!

on may 16th, my dad's actual 60th birthday, we celebrated yet again. notice that sulli is always willing to help out with the candle blowing. too cute! and the last picture is of my cute boys, all asleep. so sweet!

the service for grandpa was on may 17th. it all went very well. i told my mom that i would gladly sing as long as i didn't have to follow my dad. i knew that i would have a hard time with composure after listening to my dad talk about his dad. i was assured that i wouldn't have to follow dad. well, just before the service began, the pastor went through the order with us, letting me know that my cue to go sing was when my dad was finished. what??? well, sure enough, my dad said some amazing things about grandpa. he ended with the fact that 33 years ago, he was faced with the decision of who he would have standing up next to him as his best man at his wedding. he said that this was not a difficult decision, as his dad was his best friend. and that after 33 years, he is still his best man. whoa! what a statement about your dad. i told the congregation that i needed some time to compose myself. after i took that time, i sang the same song that i sang at grandma's service "amazing grace/my chains are gone". i just love this song and what the chorus says:

my chains are gone, i've been set free
my God my Saviour has ransomed me
and like a flood His mercy rains
unending love, amazing grace

so true...He has set us free. and how fortunate we are that His mercy continually rains down on us as we are not worthy of anything. if we only lean on Him, give ourselves over to Him and admit that we cannot do it on our own, He will lead us through all that life brings our way. that is a huge comfort for me. it was also wonderful singing this song for grandpa who, at the end of his life, was bound by the chains of sickness, weakness, and confusion. on that day, i could sing that song knowing that those chains were gone and that he indeed had been set free. wow! chills again! i made it through almost the entire song...lost it on the last line. but that's ok, it was for grandpa.

overall a great time seeing extended family, celebrating a milestone birthday with my dad, and celebrating the life of a wonderful man.

Goodbye Grandpa

My wonderful Grandpa Alvin passed away last week after living 98 wonderful years. I spent some time in Twin Falls with my family last week and am now home again helping to prepare for the memorial service which is this coming
Saturday the 17th.


I have included his obituary below so that you can read about my Grandpa. He was an amazing, generous man who worked his way up from nothing. His parents came to the U.S. from Norway as endentured servants. We have come across some great pictures as well, most of grandpa with my grandma who passed away May 6, 2007...grandpa on May 6, 2008...crazy huh! Also a great picture of my grandpa with my dad on his wedding day. He was my dad's best man.

Alvin William Strand, 98, passed away peacefully at The Caring Place on May 6, 2008, with family and staff at his bedside. He was preceded in death by his loving bride of 70 years, Alta, one year ago to the day. Alvin was born the fourth child of six in Finley, North Dakota on December 6, 1909. He was born an entrepreneur; devising various ways to make ends meet starting at a very young age. He and his best friend Jake ran trapping lines as adolescents and he sold used textbooks in college. After receiving his teaching certificate, Alvin then found the love of his life teaching in the same small schoolhouse. They were married in 1937 and continued teaching together until Alvin was drafted into the Army during WWII. His service was primarily infantry training at Fort Blanding in Florida. Alta and Alvin moved to California in 1948, where they settled in Glendale and together raised their family of 3 children. Alvin found his niche in the real estate market, and eventually moved into the development side in 1978. He was involved in Kiwanis Club, Salem Lutheran Church, Boy Scouts of America and was a Lutheran Solheim Retirement board member for many years. He enjoyed boating with the family, shark hunting off Catalina Island with his boys, traveling to foreign lands with Alta, and playing cards with family and friends. In 2000, Alvin and Alta moved to Twin Falls, Idaho where they resided at Bridgeview. Alvin served on the resident council at Bridgeview until their move to the Caring Place. They attended church at First Baptist and were involved in bridge clubs throughout the Magic Valley. At the age of 91, Alvin kept his entrepreneurial spirit alive by starting another investment company, Strand Investments.

Alvin is survived by his two sons, Doug (Nancy) Strand of Twin Falls and Steve (Patricia) Strand of British Columbia; daughter Judith Strand Hopkins of Santa Cruz, Calif.; 5 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 17, at First Baptist Church of Twin Falls, Pastor Jeff Cooper officiating. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations can be made in Alvin’s memory to the Valley House of Twin Falls. The family would like to publicly thank all of the loving caregivers (past and present) who cared for Alvin while he was living at the Caring Place.

And yes, this is me with huge cowboy boots on. Oh, I am going to miss this man. I feel so fortunate to have had such close relationships with all 4 of my grandparents. I still have both of my mom's parents living. I know this is rare and I am very greatful.

This is why I have been a bit delinquent in my posting. I have been a bit sidetracked with family...which is exactly where I should be. Danielle...I will get to those 7 favorites one of these days.