Cherish the Moments

Mommy's Little Helper

2011-10-14T15:32:00.001-07:00

A Dream Come True...

2011-09-29T06:14:00.000-07:00

This is what is written below the Walt Disney and Mickey statue.

We really did have fun together!

We had an amazing day! It really was a dream come true!

We were so thankful that we were able to share

this amazing day with Grandpa and Grandma.

Chris and I were talking the next day about how

we both almost cried when we saw Anna with Cinderella.

These pictures still bring tears to my eyes.

Due to the occasional rain not a lot of
the characters were out greeting people.

Thankfully, the kids were able to see
each of their favorite characters.

Even now, when the kids see the Cinderella castle

at the beginning of a movie, they all say,

"We were there!"

There are many parades throughout the day.

The "Celebrate a Dream Come True" Parade

was the first one that we saw.

During the parade Woody came over

to Isaac and gave him a high-five.

As we waited in line to see Woody and Jessie,

they we leaving to take a break.

Jessie took Isaac's hat and ran off with it.

When they returned Jessie gave Isaac his hat

that now had Woody, Jessie, and Bullseye's signatures on it!

A little worn out, but still having lots of fun!

Here is just a sample of the fireworks!

* Don't forget to turn the music down before you start the video

The last thing that we did was watch another parade.

We almost left before the parade began,

but at the last minute we decided to stay.

I am so glad we did, it was a great way to end the day.

It was heartbreaking for all of us to leave the park...

although Isaac was the only one who cried about it.

We were all so tierd...

Anna fell asleep before we even left the park.

It was an amazing day!

We are so thankful that we had the opportunity to go!

Special Fun with Daddy

2011-09-26T18:26:00.000-07:00

While I get my haircut,

Chris and the kids always do something fun.

Today he took them to McDonald's Playland

and then he took them for a ride on the train in the mall.

They loved it!

He is such a good Dad.

It makes me love him more!

I am so Thankful for him and couldn't ask for a

better husband or father for my kids.

I love you, Babe!

It's in the Genes

2011-09-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

Grandpa sleeps with a fan blowing on his head...

Daddy sleeps with a fan blowing on his head...

and now this...

I am seriously beginning to think that the NEED

to sleep with a fan blowing on you,as you sleep,
is in the Ravert gene. :-)

When we bought the boys their new bunk bed
we had to buy them clip-on fans,

because their big fan couldn't reach up to the top bunk.

They said that they couldn't go to sleep
without the fan blowing on them.

Yeah, it's definitely in the genes! :-)

A Day at the Zoo

2011-09-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

We finally had the opportunity to take the kids through
the dinosaur exhibit at the zoo.

They loved it!

I think their favorite dinosaur was the spitting one!

The kids thought it was hilarious when Daddy stood still
and let the dinosaur spit on him. :-D

The entire exhibit was so life like, it was great!

The dinosaurs moved and made sounds.

Even the eyes of each dinosaur seemed so real and moved around.

A day at the zoo wouldn't be complete
without a ride on the carousel.

We even joined in on the fun!

Sorry it's blurry. It's kinda hard to take a picture
when you are both moving. :-)

I scream, You scream...

2011-09-09T07:05:00.000-07:00

We all scream for Ice Cream!!!

They really do! :-D

The kids have really enjoyed the ice cream truck this summer.

They always hear her first from the back yard,

as she goes down the street behind our house.

The next 20 minutes is spent running from the back of the house

to the front of the house trying to hear the ice cream truck.

As soon as they hear her coming down our street...

the screaming for ice cream really begins!!!

They then rush to the front yard and wave as she drives by...

they then look at me and say, "she has to turn around first" :-)

(this is an improvement because the first few weeks of

the summer they would get really upset to see her drive by).

The kids received some devastating news yesterday...

this is the ice cream lady's last week.

They really could not understand why...

"but Mommy it's not winter yet!"

I love staying at home and being able
to have these times with my kids,

having cute stories to tell Chris when he calls
or when he gets home,

and creating these memories of my little kids
that I hope to never forget.

It is moments like these that I cherish!

It's coming...

2011-09-09T06:46:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted about our trip to Disney World yet...

be patient... I'm to trying to be! ;-)

I am waiting to get our photos from Disney,

so as soon as the pictures are here I will post
about our great day at Disney!

Here is a sneak peek...

Boo Birthdays!

2011-08-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

August 28, 2007

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday!

3rd Birthday!

4th Birthday!

Such a Good Dad

2011-08-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

Anna had some new nail polish
that she wanted me to put on her toes.

I had just cut my finger and did not like
the thought of using nail polish remover.

So, Anna asked Daddy to clean the old polish off
so that I could paint her toes.

* Notice the gun sitting beside her :-)

Fishing Stories

2011-08-22T07:06:00.000-07:00

The kids love to go fishing!

Especially now that each of the boys have caught a fish.

As we were leaving the lake we listened to the boys
tell stories about how they caught a big fish
and it how it got away!

I guess a fisherman (at any age) has a story about
the "big one that got away"!

Adam & Casie ~ August 6, 2011

2011-08-19T11:25:00.000-07:00

This is the only picture that I have of this day...

Friday during the rehersal Caleb was extremely nervous

about being the ring bearer.

During the actually wedding he was extremely excited

to be the ring bearer.

So excited that he ran, and I mean RAN down the aisle!

That blur in front of the lady in the blue dress... YUP... that's Caleb!

He ran down the aisle leaving the flower girl behind!

Click here to see some pictures from this special day! :-)

Wedding Rehersal

2011-08-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

After our relaxing day on Wednesday,
it was back to work on Thursday.

The day was spent decorating
the reception hall and auditorium.

Friday was the day to finish all of the last minute details,
and then rehearsal!

Definitely the cutest little ring bearer!

Now for the BIG DAY! :-D

A day with the Crawfords

2011-08-18T11:09:00.000-07:00

Our trip down to Florida on Monday was thankfully uneventful.

The kids were great as we traveled.

Tuesday was spent getting the reception hall decorated.

Wednesday was a day set a side for
the Raverts and Crawfords to spend together.

We had a very yummy lunch at the Crawfords home.

Then we headed over to a water park.

The plan was for the kids to enjoy playing in the water.

Well, as you can see in the pictures,
some adults enjoyed the water too!

Anna was hilarious!

She first went to Grandpa and asked him
to come in the water with her.

How could he refuse?:-)

When he was finished she moved on to Uncle Adam...

again, how could he refuse? :-)

When he was finished she tried to
work her magic on Aunt Casie,

but Casie stayed strong! :-)

Here she is probably trying to convince

Grandma to go in the water! :-)

After playing in the water,

Chris tried to dry off a bit before getting in the van.

Our fun time quickly ended when the water turned off

and the siren started to go off.

Warning us that a storm was coming.

It was a nice time of getting to know the Crawfords

and just spending some time all together.

Thank you Casie for planning such a great day!

I love it !!!

2011-07-28T09:57:00.000-07:00

I love how close our house is to the beach!!!

It is so nice to spend an afternoon at the beach whenever we want.

I really am spoiled!

VBS 2011

2011-07-26T10:30:00.000-07:00

VBS is one of our favorite times of the year.

All 3 of the kids were able to participate this year.

Anna was thrilled! :-)

One of Chris' favorite parts of VBS is the penny contest.

Every year, since our kids were old enough to be in VBS,

we have spent a small fortune on pennies. :-)

Our church does a 3 day VBS.

Day 1 and Day 2 the girls had won the penny contest.

So Chris stepped it up on Day 3,

just to be sure that the boys got the last win. :-)

Here he is passing out pennies to all of the boys!

I was hillarious to watch the pennies be collected...

the boys couldn't carry the bucket.

SO one of the men helped... then he began to struggle! :-)

The man running the VBS tried to balance the buckets on the scale...

but soon gave up, because he couldn't get the boy bucket off of the floor! LOL

Chris loved it!!!

It was a great 3 day VBS.

With about 100 kids registered and 26 salvation decisions!!!

Another Great Weekend

2011-07-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

I love weekends!

They are always full of "out of the ordinary" activities.

Friday night we slept in the clubhouse,

it was a little squishy and around 3am it started to get chilly,

but we all had a lot of fun! :-)

After the Sunday morning service

we headed to the Zoo for the afternoon.

We had a great time feeding the birds.

Both Anna and Isaac held a bird.

Caleb was to nervous and made the bird fly away,

so he didn't get a chance to hold a bird

(which he was thankful for) :-)

Caleb and Anna were nervous that the carousel would go to fast

(which you can see in Anna's picture).

Riding the horses ended up being their favorite part of the day. :-)

On our way home after church we decided to get a treat.

Which ended up being 1/2 price!!!

Mmmmmmmm!

Isaac said that eating a Kripy Kreme was like eating cotton candy. :-)

What a perfect way to end a great weekend! :-P

Let's catch up

2011-07-05T09:07:00.000-07:00

We have finally begun summer...

it has been fairly cool here in Washington but summer is finally here!

We love Washington summers, we miss the snow in the winter,

but the summers are great, never too hot and never too humid.

Simply enjoyable!

Here is what we have been up to in the last few weeks...

June 17 was our first Beach Day 2011

I forgot my camera at home so I don't have any pics from the beach,

but I do have this hilarious picture of Calleigh taken at our house after the beach day...

We always try to make something for Daddy on Father's Day.

He proudly wore it to church that day. :-)

We have enjoyed getting out and enjoying the beautiful weather as a family.

Anna is trying to get her "reading" done for the Summer reading program at the library.

Caleb found a new pet (which was already dead so we threw it back in the water).

We enjoyed some Canada Day fireworks from the US side of the border.

The kids really enjoyed it.

Nathan, Rachel and their boys came with us. Joshua was so funny.

For each firework he would yell,

"SCORE!" :-)

Our 4th of July was a day to get things accomplished around the house.

The kids enjoyed the Canada Day fireworks so much

that we decided to take them to the 4th of July fireworks in Blaine.

It was the BEST fireworks show that Chris and I have ever seen!

We were so surprised! I was Great!

Here is a sample of what we enjoyed!

*pause the music below before you start the video

It has been a great summer so far and the best is yet to come! :-)

Many Exciting things coming up!!!

2011-07-01T13:52:00.000-07:00

Wedding Tickers

Anniversary Tickers

Free Disney Tickers

We are so excited!!!

We have been working on a BIG project...

2011-06-18T08:57:00.000-07:00

... more to come when "it" is finished! :-)

Then and Now

2011-06-18T08:54:00.000-07:00

THEN

June 2009

NOW

June 2011

Memorial day weekend!

2011-06-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was so much fun!

This was our mini family vacation.

We had Grandma come along for the fun too!

We will be going to Florida at the end of the summer

for Uncle Adam's wedding!

Only 8 weeks left!!! :-D

We really enjoyed getting a way and doing some fun things together.

Sunday:
- Sunday school and morning church service
- A personal antique car parade in front of our hotel
(there was some sort of car show going on nearby
so before we checked into our hotel we watched all of the cars leave the parking lot)
- Swimming in the hotel pool
- PM service at church
- Movie time in the hotel room

This car was made of wood!

HERBIE!!! :-D The kids favorite!

This is what Anna thought of the cars. :-)

Ahhhh... vacation!

Monday:

- An early morning swim

- Breakfast at Denny's

- Woodland Park Zoo!!!

- and to finish off a perfect weekend a family BBQ at our house, complete with smores :-)

Caleb was thrilled to see the penguins.

Komodo Dragon

Elephants

Raverts :-D

Goats

It was a little to sunny to take a picture with their eyes open. :-)

I was so nice to spend some time away as a family.

We are really looking forward to using

our new Zoo memberships many times this summer.

Yippee!!!

2011-05-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

While we were walking yesterday

the kids and I found a short cut to the beach!!

The route that we thought we would have to take

would have been to long to walk with the kids.

Now we can go to the beach whenever we want...

well as soon as the boys finish their school work. :-)

I want this to be posted in my front yard someday!

Does it get any cuter than this?

2011-05-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

We were hopeful!

Maybe next year. :-)

Only a few days left...

2011-05-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

Anniversary Tickers

Princess Anna

2011-05-06T13:16:00.000-07:00

Watching a movie while I do school with the boys :-)

Welcome Spring!

2011-05-02T09:23:00.000-07:00

Is there any other way to spend such a beautiful day,

than at the beach?

Anna had a great time playing in the sand.

She would load up her skirt...

carry it over to Daddy...

and dump it in his hand! :-) Crazy girl!

It was so nice to just sit and watch the kids play...

and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

*click on this picture to see the beautiful mountains!

Baby Calleigh

2011-04-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

(who actually isn't a baby anymore, but still carries the name)

There is definitely no denying that Calleigh is related to my kids.

She actually looks like the little sister.

Erin said that she even makes the same cutsie smile

that Caleb does. :-)

:-{} For Calleigh!

(I know that you know what that means Erin)

Happy Easter!

2011-04-27T14:54:00.001-07:00

All dressed up for Church.

The boys have green ties to match Anna's dress,

it is just hard to see that in this picture.

They looked so cute!

Until they used their ties to make themselves indians.

It was rather noisy too!

***

The Hunt begins!

Anna found a bunch in one spot. :-)

Oatmeal Cookies

2011-04-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

Online Learning

2011-04-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

I love online learning games...

a great extra tool for a homeschooling Mom.

We found another park

2011-04-14T09:24:00.000-07:00

Mommy's Little Helper

2011-04-14T09:20:00.000-07:00

Anna is always so eager to help...

so I asked her to wipe the table off for me. :-D

Matthew Alexander

2011-04-08T07:02:00.000-07:00

He is finally here!

Matthew Alexander

April 5, 2011

7:17pm

8lbs 12oz

21 1/2" long

We look forward to meeting the newest addition to the family.

Congratulations Nathan, Rachel, and Joshua!

We love all 4 of you. :-D

Anna goes to town

2011-04-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

We stopped at the dollar store on Friday Night
to pick up a few family night snacks.

Anna went to town!

She loaded the basket and then loaded her arms,

she told us it was all for the "famoly night".

We let her do her thing and then we sat on the floor,

sorted through the pile and picked out a few things to buy.

Then everyone helped return the left overs to the right shelves.

Definitely not like her mother

2011-03-31T15:28:00.000-07:00

"Mommy can my baby worm

come in so he doesn't get cold?"

That is definitely not something I would have done...

now my sister Erin, she was the one

eating real mud pies

and kissing frogs in hopes to find a prince.

Daddy's Chair

2011-03-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

We have another chair and a sofa,

but for some reason they like

to sit together on Daddy's chair.

Oh So True

2011-03-22T20:12:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night we had our first bonfire for this year.

Anna was really tired so she was cuddling with Chris.

She was sitting there for quite a while,

which is very rare for our high maintenance little girl.

So I said to her, "Anna, why aren't you sweet and calm
like this all the time?"

Her response...

"I HATE sweet and calm!"

Oh how true that is!

Gone Fishin'

2011-03-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

The boys bought themselves fishing poles this weekend.

Caleb had decided on a fishing pole early in the shopping trip.

Chris knew that Isaac would regret not buying one,

so he tried to convince our penny pincher to buy one too.

After much talking and a few tears he finally gave in.

Guess who wanted to stay at the lake...

When Caleb and Anna were ready to go home,

Isaac told Chris that I could take them home

and come back for Him and Daddy later. :-)

The prayer of a three year old...

2011-03-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

This morning Anna prayed for breakfast.

"Dear Jesus thank you for this food,

help Daddy to have a good day at work,

and help Mommy to make Jell-o soon. Amen."

We now have Jell-o firming in the fridge.☺

Then and Now

2011-03-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

Then...

Now...

Wow, things sure have changed!

I think Chris almost cried when Anna was able

to ride this bike down the aisle of the store.

How did our kids get to be so big?

When people tell you that the time goes by fast...

They are right!

Family Night

2011-02-26T10:05:00.000-08:00

Even though everything we do is a family activity.

The kids have named Friday night "Family Night".

We eat supper in the living room as we watch movies,

with snacks for dessert.

Then comes the part that the kids like the best... we all sleep in the living room.

"Is he always like that?"

2011-02-26T09:54:00.000-08:00

That is what one of Chris' friends asked about our very energetic Peanut.

And yes he is always "like that"! :-)

He started Kindergarten this year and is doing great.

Although at times I don't think he is paying attention,

because he seems to be in another world, or to busy fidgeting;

he was listening to me and can tell me what I was saying.

He has decided that his favorite letter is C... can you guess why? :-)

Despite his never ending energy,

he is always willing to stop and give Mommy a hug.

We love you Peanut!

Daddy's Boy

2011-02-03T13:21:00.000-08:00

I know this is a picture of him with Mommy...

but he is most definitely a Daddy's Boy!

Every morning we wake up to a third person in bed with us.

Isaac has come to our bed every night since he started walking.

But, its not me that he is looking to cuddle with... just Daddy.

One morning he woke up to just me in bed with him...

he reached over, felt my hair and realized that it was me...

"Where's Daddy?"

And then he went to find him. :-D

He is growing up so fast. I often think that there is no way that he can be 6...

but he is and he is very proud to be the BIG brother. :-D

We love you , Buddy!

Father-Son Mustang

2011-01-30T20:28:00.000-08:00

Here is the new project!

Chris' friend, Dave, gave this to him!

So his plan is to have this as a Father-Son project.

(excuse the messy garage... we're working on it) :-)

I'm sure that there are many more pictures to come :-D

For Free!!!

2011-01-30T19:15:00.000-08:00

God is so good!!!

He provides our wants even when we are not looking!

Philipians 4:19

^{"But my God shall supply all your need}
^{according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."}

^{... and He takes care of your wants as well! :-D}

Peanut is 5!

2011-01-27T09:30:00.000-08:00

Our very Buzz loving, Mommy protecting, extremely energetic, story telling, little boy is now 5!

Happy Birthday Peanut!

♥ Daddy, Mommy, Isaac, and Anna

Little Miss High Maintenance

2011-01-25T14:09:00.000-08:00

She may be "high maintenance", but she sure is cute!

And we love her very much!

Brrrrr!

2011-01-21T09:51:00.000-08:00

During Grandpa and Grandma's visit, we took Grandpa to the beach.

It was a beautiful, but very cold day!

We miss you and love you very much, Grandpa and Grandma!

Tea time

2011-01-20T08:27:00.001-08:00

It didn't take long...

2011-01-19T09:38:00.000-08:00

It didn't take long... as soon as he realized that I was interested in him,

his goal for second semester was to make me his girlfriend.

It didn't take long... for others to recognize that we were a couple.

It didn't take long... to realize that we wanted to spend the rest

of our life together.

It did take long... to finally begin our life as one.

It didn't take long... until we started our own family.

It didn't take long... to reach 10 Years together!

It most definitely didn't take long... for me to realize what an amazing

husband and father you are.

I am so thankful for you!

I love you, Baby! I look forward to many more decades together!

♥ Melissa

Saturdays

2011-01-19T08:13:00.000-08:00

With Chris' new job he once again has Saturdays off, YEAH! :-)

This past Saturday we found a great park along the water in Bellingham.

It has a cute little play area for the kids...

walking paths, with boardwalks out over the water...

and a cute little coffee shop.

It is the perfect place to go and spend a few hours as a family.

I think that we would all agree that this is our new favorite park!

Scrapbooking Ideas Photo Tinks by WiddlyTinks.com

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2010-12-21T09:22:00.001-08:00

This free greeting created with Smilebox

2010-12-21T07:35:00.000-08:00

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Only 4 more days!

Today Grandpa and Grandma arrive! ☺

"It's Official!"

2010-12-17T13:41:00.001-08:00

That was Adam's way of telling me that he and Casie are now ENGAGED!!!!!!

Congratulations to both of you!!!

lots of hugs and ♥ Christopher, Melissa, Isaac, Caleb and Anna

Check out their blog for some pictures of the event...

http://ravertcrawford.blogspot.com/

Many Apologies

2010-12-17T13:41:00.000-08:00

I know that I haven't posted anything for a very long time...

lots of things have happened, and there of lots of posts that I would like to do,

but... I am having trouble getting pictures from my camera to the computer.

Hopefully we will have that taken care of soon.

Keep checking back... eventually there will be a post. :-)

Just a reminder...

2010-11-18T20:41:00.001-08:00

...to myself!

Psalm 56:3

"What time I am afraid I will trust in thee"

Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart;
and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thine ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths"

Isaiah 26:4

"Trust ye in the Lord for ever:
for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength"

Nahum 1:7

"the LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble;
and he knoweth them that trust in him"

Psalm 62:8

"Trust in him at all times; ye people,
pour out your heart before him:

God is a refuge for us. Selah"

***Pause the music at the bottom of the blog***

Sooo BIG!

2010-11-17T09:20:00.000-08:00

"Mommy, take a picture of me on my tip toes!"

Such Blessings!

2010-11-08T14:24:00.000-08:00

"Blessed are all they that put their trust in him."

Psalms 2:12

Carving Tradition

2010-11-08T14:11:00.000-08:00

Chris says that the "3 tooth, triangle eyes" pumpkin face is a tradition,

because that is all that he has done since he was a kid. :-)

Forever

2010-11-01T11:27:00.000-07:00

If I don't tell you as often as I'd like,

it's because I could never tell you enough...

That I am grateful for you sharing your life with mine,

and that my love for you will live forever.

Happy 7th Anniversary, Babe!

I love you!

♥ Melissa

So Overwhelmed

2010-10-28T11:35:00.000-07:00

Recently I have found that I have a hard time falling asleep some nights.

I lay there in bed thinking of all the goodness of God in my life, and I become

OVERWHELMED!

A song that I learned as a child keeps coming to my mind...
*don't forget to mute the music at the bottom of the blog

Pumpkin Time

2010-10-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

Last night picking a pumpkin... tonight carving!!! :-D

Another Blessing!

2010-10-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

God is so good!

We recently found another bed for Anna on Craigslist.

When we arrived to pick it up...

Chris thought that the sellers looked familiar.

He then realized that they were customers of his at Honda.

The man helped load the bed into our van.

Chris paid him for the bed, and got ready to leave.

Just then the man comes back over to Chris' window
and hands him the money back!

What a blessing... an amazing bed for FREE!!!

God is so good!

Sound asleep in her new bed! :-)

Thanks Daddy!

2010-10-21T08:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks Daddy, for our playhouse that is bigger than Mommy's couch!

♫ ♫ Happy Birthday to you! ♫ ♫

2010-10-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

3" Curls

2010-10-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

So, I went into the bathroom this morning to get the dirty laundry, and this is what I found...

"ANNA!!!... Did you cut your hair?"

"It was in my face."

I went to work on trying to fix this problem,

and this is what we ended up with.

Grandma, thankfully I think the curls will survive.

Yeah!!!

2010-10-07T14:26:00.000-07:00

Since we have moved the kids have been kind of bored outside,

because they don't have any of their outside toys yet.

So, Chris has been on a hunt to find something...

This is what he found!!!

They LOVE it!

They spend hours outside playing everyday!

Do you think they like it? :-)

Chris recently found some building scraps

and plans to make a playhouse on the swing set!

The kids are really looking forward to this! :-)

I'll post pictures of that when it is finished.

Beach Fire!

2010-10-07T14:14:00.001-07:00

"Chubby Bunny!"

I absolutely love these pictures!

♥♥♥♥

God is soooo good!

Our Big Boy!

2010-10-07T14:03:00.000-07:00

He's 6!

His Birthday Cupcakes!

(with green frosting... as requested) :-)

As soon as Chris got home from work we headed to the beach!

Isaac wanted to have a fire on the beach and roast hot dogs for his birthday!

***

We love you, Isaac!

♥ Daddy and Mommy

Beautiful Day, Beautiful View

2010-10-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

We recently made another trip to Hovander farm.

It was such a beautiful day.

We know that there isn't to many of these left, so we took advantage of it!

This time we visited Tenant Lake, it was beautiful!

We had to go up into the lighthouse to see the lake,

because the boardwalk was closed...

what a view with the beautiful mountains in the distance.

My little farmers!

Easy Baking

2010-10-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

So, what do you like to do on dreary afternoons?

We like to bake! :-)

Anxiously waiting to taste test!

Our mini masterpiece!

mmmmmm!!!

Thank you Briana for the Easy Bake Oven!

Soon to be 6!

2010-09-22T21:26:00.001-07:00

Birthday Tickers

You Guessed It...

2010-09-17T09:43:00.000-07:00

Another Day at the Beach

God has blessed us with a beautiful place to live.

(trying out some different settings on my camera) :-)

They buried a jellyfish.

Isn't being a stay-at-home Mom the best job ever?!!!

:-D

The Joys of Having a House

2010-09-17T09:16:00.000-07:00

Actually, I think he rather enjoys cutting the grass. ;-)

All 6 together again!

2010-09-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

Today Sandra had some shopping to do,

so she left her 3 oldest kids at our house for a few hours.

The girls were great!

They played alone in Anna's room (with the door closed) for a couple of hours.

I think they were enjoying a room full of just "girl toys",

and no interruptions from brothers. :-)

The boys had a great time too!

Although, they weren't anywhere near as quiet as the girls. :-)

Labor Day

2010-09-13T16:34:00.000-07:00

Nathan, Rachel, and Baby Joshua (who really isn't a baby anymore)

spent Sunday night and all day Monday with us.

It was so nice to spend some time together.

Despite the rain, we went for a hike in the woods.

It was a little wet but lots of fun.

Hey, Rachel, maybe next time we will be more prepared

and wear something other than flip flops. :-)

We are thankful that the Lord has allowed us to stay in this area.

And that we can have times together just like this.

Although we do miss the rest of our family,

and are really looking forward to their next visit.

A fun family day!

2010-09-13T16:15:00.000-07:00

Chris had the Saturday of Labor Day weekend off.

We had a great day as a family, courtesy of the Turners. :-)

They had given us some gift certificates,

and we had a fun day spending them.

We had a delicious lunch at Olive garden. YUM! YUM!

The kids loved their chicken and dumpling soup...

...Raspberry lemonade...

...bread sticks...

... and just having fun!

After lunch we went to JC Penney

and bought some much needed stuff for our new home.

It was funny to watch the kids carry their new pillows through the store,

especially Anna (whose pillow is bigger than she is).

We made our final gift certificate stop at the Coldstone Creamery.

We loaded up on ice cream to take home!

Mmmmmmmmm!

~~~

We stopped at home to change our clothes,

and then it was off to the beach.

(which is only 2 minutes from our new house) :-D

I love days when we can spend the whole day doing fun things as a family!

Thank again Turners for the gift certificates,

your friendship, prayers, and everything else that you have done for us.

We love and miss you all and look forward to our return to Anchor.

Welcome Home!

2010-09-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

Follow me I'll show you our new house!

Keep coming! We're almost there!

We're here!

Welcome to our home!

(inside pictures still to come...

Mommy needs to get everything settled in first)

So what have we been up to?

2010-09-07T18:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast they have grown!

Yes, that is slobber on Caleb's chin... he hated the taste of the clorine.

Sleeping in the hotel

She didn't want her picture taken ;-)

We had to convince Caleb to not hold Daddy's eyes

before he could begin his turn :-)

Isaac enjoyed "swimming",

which was really just pulling himself around the outer edge of the pool.

~~~~~

With everything that has been going on we didn't have a formal party for Anna,

but rather an impromptu kind of party!

Which I think ended up being more fun =D

Our big girl!

Wow, my baby is now 3!

Anna's surprise birthday treat from Pastor Turner.

Mmmmmm! Yummy ice cream cake!

Anna opening her gift from the Turners.

Joshua taking a break :-)

The boys really enjoyed wrestling with "Big Caleb",

who they have missed tremendously!

Thank you to everyone who was able to

come down to Bellingham to visit with us,

and to celebrate Anna's 3rd birthday!

We love you all so much!

Is anything to hard for God?

2010-09-02T08:02:00.000-07:00

Listen to the whole song before

you continue to read this post!

*Don't forget to mute the blog music

(The following is not a link, you will need to copy and paste)

http://wcbc.edu/sites/default/files/media/mp3/Is-Anything-Too-Hard-for-God.mp3

When I thought of writing this post many thoughts came to mind...

now that I am actually writing it, I am so overwhelmed

with emotion that I can hard process everything.

God has done so much for us over the past

almost 7 years of marriage.

We have gone through many hard times,

but God continues to show himself faithful through it all.

A week ago our family experienced one of the hardest things ever,

but God continues to show us that He is faithful,

and that there is nothing to hard for God!

We are so thankful to God for His love and care for insignificant people like us.

We have yet to see God's purpose and plan for our family,

but we trust Him for each day and for our future.

We are thankful for our family and all of their love through this time,

we love each one of you so much.

We are thankful for our Pastor and church family,

who have helped us tremendously during the past week.

We are overwhelmed with all that God has done in such a short time.

Thank you everyone for praying for us,

and we hope that you would continue to do so.

With love,

The Raverts

(Another song for you to listen to)

http://wcbc.edu/sites/default/files/media/mp3/Look-to-God.mp3

3 Little Possums

2010-09-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

Curly Boo!

2010-08-16T10:43:00.000-07:00

I can remember many Saturday nights

where I too went to bed with curlers or rags in my hair.=)

Just another peek at her new earrings! =D

She's a BIG girl now!

2010-08-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

Anna has a birthday coming in just a couple of weeks.

Chris and I had been talking about getting her ears pierced.

A few weeks ago Anna asked me if she could have earrings like Mommy.

So that settled it!

On Saturday we took her to get her early birthday present!

Waiting anxiously!

Getting marked...

making sure that the dots are even..

..and POKE!

They're in!!!

She cried for a few minutes, and then was just grumpy for a while. =)

She just wanted to cuddle with Mommy.

We went up and down the escalator and then the glass elevator

to help get her mind off of her ears.

She loves her earrings, and she loves to show them off! =D

SeaQuest

2010-08-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

83 registered!

4 saved!

What a great week of VBS!

Puppets =)

Games =)

Pastor told the kids that if we had 60 or more kids on Thursday night

that we would have breakfast on Caleb's head!

We had 66! =)

It was a very busy week, but well worth it!

Hovander Farm (take 2)

2010-08-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday Rachel and I took our 4 kids to Hovander farm for the day!

It was a beautiful day!

I was able to replace some of the pictures that I lost.

We fed the pigs...

...the ducks...

...and the chickens.

The bunnies and goats were hiding,

and I haven't seen the horses yet this summer. =(

Joshua was fixing the tractor. =)

Anna was afraid of this scarecrow last time we went to the farm.

Playing in the sunflower house.

I love sunflowers!

My 3 little piggies! =D

Such a beautiful place to spend a relaxing morning and a picnic lunch.

McDonald's Treat

2010-08-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

Isaac was one of the winners of our Junior Church contest!

His prize was a $10 McDonald's gift certificate.

He treated us to sundaes, mmmmmm!

And they played in the Play place for a while...

until Anna got hurt. =(

ABC Picnic

2010-08-13T09:31:00.000-07:00

August 2 was our annual church picnic.

We had a great time!

We are so thankful for our Pastor and our church family.

Our day was full of good fellowship

and there was a bit of water thrown in there too! =)

Baby Calleigh's 1st Birthday!

2010-08-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was Baby Calleigh's 1st birthday party!

I can't believe that she is already 1.

Anna was trying to clean Joshua's face.

He didn't appreciate it... so he pulled his hat down over his face. =D

Happy Birthday Calleigh!

We love you!

Bouncing and Swimming

2010-08-07T17:44:00.000-07:00

The Vezinas invited us and a few other families from church

over for a barbecue last weekend.

The kids had a great time bouncing on the trampoline...

swimming in the pool...

Ans there was lots of good fellowship! =)

All that fun made for some very sleepy kids.

Her Last Day Here =(

2010-08-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

The day that Grandma flew home (11 pm PST)

all of the girls and kids got together

at our house to spend the last few hours with her.

I got to cuddle with Emma-Joy as she napped.

We are on our way to the SeaTac Airport.

We miss you Grandma!

We can't wait for Christmas

when you will return with Grandpa!

An 8 Kid Photo Shoot

2010-08-05T15:14:00.000-07:00

The night before Grandma went back to New York

we all had dinner together

(Spaghetti Pie Mmmmmm!)

and then took some updated pictures of all 8 grandkids. =)

Grandma's Visit

2010-08-04T17:10:00.000-07:00

It was so nice to have Grandma here for 2 weeks in July.

We really enjoyed every moment with her

and we all wished that Grandpa could have come as well.

A few of our pictures from Grandma's visit survived my phone incident,

I lost the pictures of Anna and Grandma baking cookies. =(

I guess we will have to relive that moment at Christmas. =)

Such a good Grandma =)

Some guys just never grow up...

but we love them just the way they are! =)

The kids had their first Slurpees!

Isaac's new "trick"

They were "making a plan"

Such a big boy!

Sad, Sad Day

2010-07-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

I recently had an incident with my phone and SD card.

While trying to delete some pictures off of my card
I accidentally deleted all of them.

Yes, a very sad, sad day!

In those pictures I had some great shots of the kids at the farm...

which would have made a great post. =(

Now to fill up the card again! =)

Emma-Joy

2010-07-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

She is finally here!

Emma-Joy the newest cousin was born on July 10 at 12:04am.

The boys are telling us about her little fingers and toes. =)

A special thanks to Uncle Jun for the pictures.

(You're right Sandra they do take forever to upload) =)

A Day of Many Firsts

2010-07-06T17:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Chris experienced many firsts... :-)

It was his first time spending the day at a real beach...

His first time wearing shorts in public,

(well, at least as long as I have known him) :-)

And it was also his first time getting a sunburn.

~~~

Chris had yesterday off for the July 4th weekend

so we decided to spend the day at the beach in White Rock.

It was great day! The best beach day yet this year.

(I think it had something to do with it being all of us together) :-D

I showed Caleb how to bury his feet in the sand.

This time we took the truck... it was blast!

(too bad we forgot to charge the battery all the way) :-(

It was so windy... great for bubbles.

We spent a looong time digging for clams.

***Don't forget to mute the music

at the bottom of the blog before you watch the video***

You can't hear it over the wind...

but she kept saying, "Sorry Daddy"

every time she would dump sand on his arm. :-)

I took a picture of what I thought was a lot of clams...

We ended up with 3 of these!!!

We dumped them in the bed of the truck.

We had to keep moving inland as the tide came in.

We left the kids on their own little island

as me moved all of our stuff to the next sandbar.

You can see our original tracks from when we were headed

out to further sandbars... that are now buried.

Caleb was so proud of himself, he caught a fish

(it was an easy catch, it was floating on top) :-P

The boys were looking for more fish...

But only found sand dollars...

A dead crab, and some big rocks. :-)

By the end of the day she was freezing.

It was such a fun day!

We look forward to the next time we can take Daddy to the beach!

We had great plans of cooking our clams...

(mmmmm! fried clams and clam chowder!)

But after researching online and talking Chris talking to a friend at work.

We have decided it really isn't worth it. :-)

So for these clams there will be no corn meal baths,

dunks in boiling and freezing water, shucking,

rinses in cold water,...

just the inside of our trash can.

It was fun anyways! :-D

Water Park Fun

2010-07-06T16:27:00.000-07:00

A few pictures from our trip to the water park last Saturday.

Joshua loved it!

Than we wrapped each kid up in a hoodie towel

and headed home, they were all so cute...

sorry no pics of that. :-(