Merry Christmas!

Booshoo,

Thought I would update our blog since I have a few more minutes before the girls wake up. The past month we've been gone every weekend, not far but enough to make a little trip for us.

We went to Grand Forks to have our Christmas pictures taken and they turned out pretty good. It was fun the girls did well. I thought I was on top of my game and I still have yet to send them out. Ryan made and paid for our order but forgot to specify to have them sent to us. Well if you don't specify that they expect you to pick them up, well here we are waiting and waiting for them in the mail. I finally called and they said they were there ready to be picked up..ugh!! So a friend of mine picked them up today, 3 weeks later! oh well at least they are done and now I just have to mail them.

The next weekend we went to Winnipeg stayed at a hotel to watch my sister's boys while she was able to make it to her work's Christmas party. It was fun and the boys did soo well. I was really glad to have my hubby with he was a BIG help! We got to shop a little the next day and finish up our list. During this week our Church had its annual Gala to raise money for our sister church in the Ukraine. I was asked to decorate a table and I'll post a picture of it. I had to borrow dishes since I don't have a setting for 8 and then tried to come up with a nice table setting. Everyone sets up their tables the night before the gala so it was fun to see some other settings a head of time. It was a nice evening spent with a few friends from Alvarado church that I had invited to attend.

Last weekend we drove to Thief River and spent the day hanging out. We made our usual Walmart run but not for anything specific. We bought Emma a new snowsuit so now she is ready for snow and cold weather. We'll see how much she actually uses it.

Ryan is leaving tomorrow (a day earlier then we expected) and will be gone for 11 days. He is going to China with his mom to visit his sister, Merrilee, who is a teacher there. It actually will be a fast trip but in my mind it will be very very long. So I have been trying to decide whether to stay here or head to Red Lake for the time he is gone. If I head to Red Lake it will be less work for me, but if I stay here I will be able to see Ryan sooner and the girls will have regular routines and their beds to sleep in...what to do??? I sure would appreciate your prayers during this time. Thanks.

For my one noble follower I hope I make her day :)

Dakota with staticy hair on the trampoline..enjoying gorgeous fall weather!!

who's being silly??

burning of the "Love Shack"

before picture..it was an old house that wouldn't be lived in again

so we burned it down to clean up the lot. Fun for my hubby :)

our baby Rachelle at 10 months old

Ofcourse my pictures will be on top of this post and I don't know which ones I'm posting yet...but I guess I can tell you this one is the girls...and this one is the girls...and ohh...this one is of the girls..hehe...my how they are getting bigger...and..so..on..and..so..on :)

We are doing ok...I'll share alittle about what I've been up to..although its not much. My days are home with the girls mostly, a few trips into town for the odd reason. Although Tuesdays are a give-in since its our reading hour at the Library. Its nice to go to something that is for the girls although I benefit from it too by getting out of the house and seeing other moms. Another s-a-h mom and I drag our kiddos out for lunch and have a grand time..well I guess chasing kids and trying to get them to eat and fitting in broken conversation is your definition of grand, this is it. Any way its good.

Rachelle got all 4 top teeth in one week that was pretty big this last month..needless to say we've both been sleeping better :)

I love being a mom...well for most days :) My girls as we "speak" are playing house with their babies..they have given them bathes and now are being really really quiet while Rachelle sleeps, they are very good at it and if they aren't I pop in a movie that helps :)

Last weekend we went to Gr. Forks to have our Christmas pictures taken at Target. They were fun and the girls did well. We got a couple okay shots that will do for Christmas. I'm glad that's done. After the pictures I was able to do some Christmas shopping done and got it almost done. Guys are hard to buy for so I'm stumped for a little bit. I have another chance to finish this coming weekend and I will be very glad to have it done. This will be a first for me for I usually struggle to get it done a few days before Christmas. On Sunday we got up early again and made a mad dash to International falls to see Elise, Derek and family. I'm always glad for a chance to see my sister! It was special to see Rachel and talk baby with her along with Jenni, Keith,Elise, Derek, Darla and Sheldon..hehe...I always am amazed that some guys stick around and participate in the conversation. I always leave conversations like that wishing that I was more a fly on a log then sharing details that I wonder if anyone wants to know. But like all battle wounds its interesting to compare them :) We haven't had a busy weekend like this in a while, it was fun but exhausting. Nice to get back to routine.

I miss my old friends! Being without close friends makes me realize alot about myself, its not easy for me to make new friends or to keep them. I have to admit my faults...I hate not fitting in its hard on me. I feel left out and rejected then I take it personally...very crushing to me. Maybe you say get over it and keep trying... Why does that seem so hard to do?? I think back to my old friends and I am sorry that at sometime or other hurt them with my words or actions. My old friends were good to me...polite, kind and forgiving..something that I yet to learn and have to work on. I am sorry.

Well its getting close to lunch who knows when I will update again. I'll post a few pictures to keep you updated :)

Bonjour!

Rachelle
The girls are now sharing a bed - yay!

Went to Tinker Town in Winnipeg, here is Dakota eating her Dora the Explorer Ice cream :)

The birthday girl (mom) with three of five grandchildren.

Emma holding cousin Gavin

Emma and Dakota sitting in the dryer for a picture. They thought that was pretty fun.

Titles are always hard to come up with.

Well I added few more pictures. I'm very tired. 3 girls are wearing. I should be napping but I thought just relaxing would be okay.

We are heading to WI for the 4th and I have been packing so I'm taking a little break. Thank you for all the comments that were left on the last post it was nice to hear from so many people. We are alive and living one day at a time. Heading to RL for a week next week. It will be fun to spend time with my sister and see some old friends along the way. Please call and stop in for a cup of coffee, it will be easier for you to come to me :)......okay?

Pictures

This Year's Easter Picture

Emma 3 years old

Dakota almost 2 years old

The gifts they picked when in Winnipeg at Toys R us...Thanks Brigitte and family!!!They love them.

Dakota and Rachelle

Dakota and Emma nursing :)

They have small balloons in their jammies, their dad was being silly

Emma, Rachelle, Dakota and Scotty.

Cousins

Ryan babysitting :)

He fell asleep, but I don't blame him

we were all tired those first few weeks!

Its been a while since I've posted so I'll post a few pictures and try to do better at posting a little more then that.

Any one else enjoying the starts of spring??finally!

Its already December!

Elise and I with our kids when she was here for a visit in October.





One weekend in September Emma and I were able to go to a retreat called Women in the woods. She was soo excited to be able to go for a horse ride.










This is a pretty common picture, both girls love to be in Daddy's lap as soon as he comes home.



Dakota and Emma were out in the rain one afternoon. Dakota's raincoat and boots were too big, but it was soo cute to see her walking around.

I guess part of me is glad it is, I have 8 weeks till baby 3 is due!! YAY I have to say I'm ready to be done, my back is sore, my belly is sore, I have a cough and it hurts to cough so that's no fun. But other then that I feel like this pregnancy has gone well. Last week I went to a Dr's appointment and a lady that I didn't know came walking up to me smiling and she told me she thought I was having a boy. Its kind of funny to have people come up to you and tell you what they think you are having, how do they know???

Christmas is just around the corner and I haven't even started Christmas shopping. I am so indecisive that I just don't know what to buy people, its a good thing that we draw names on the dunham side because that means only 1 gift. I don't even know what to get Ryan. Buying gifts suck!! Okay now that I got that out. Its hard to decorate for Christmas when all your stuff is packed in a box and you are living in someone else's house. I guess I don't want to bother but maybe some day.

Ryan's car has had to have some work, and the family car needed to get all new tires so now we really don't have money for Christmas. We were hoping to work off rent on the house this month but that didnt' happen either, so we are going to be a little short this month. Does that sound familiar with other people??? For some reason it doesn't sound like something that would happen to just our family :)

We are planning to go to Red Lake the week of Christmas, as of now we'll plan on it but we'll have to see what the Dr. says :)

The girls are doing well, they both were a little sick but are getting better. I had the Dr. look at Dakota, and she said that D had a double ear infection! so she put her on antibiotics right away, it cleared it up and now she's her little rambuncious self again! She's a doll! always happy and smiling. Emma is our little scholar, she loves to learn. She is learning to write her alpehbet and she would love to be able to read her stories herself, so we are working on it a little at a time.

I have a few pictures but they don't really have any order or significance, but I'll share some.

Whoa, I thought last time was a long time!!

Okay its late, everyone is in bed sleeping and I am not, so I will blog.

I'll try to fill you in since our last post.

* Had a Dunham get together down at Trout Lake Camp. It was a great family time lots of kids, swimming and had a great time! I should post some pics of the blue blob!! (right Jill??) maybe another night.

* we moved to another house, this time we are out in the country. We are house sitting for a couple that work in Alaska during the school year so we are here till next summer. Its a nice BIG log home. We have lots of space for company so does anyone want to come a visit!???

* Emma turned 3! I can't believe it, she is a sweet girl!! I love her soo much what a joy she is to us.

* Rachel and Dave got married, I sure would have loved to have been there!

* The girls and I had a great visit up to Red Lake for 2 weeks, can you believe we were there that long?? I can't! It was a great time of seeing friends and just hanging out with my family. We got to go blueberry picking twice and I think that was the most I have picked in a long time. We spent some time watching the Olympics which was fun for me since we don't have TV in our new place. Elise and Scotty came over almost every morning (since they were up earlier then we were), went to the park a few times, the beach a few times, got to see the Red Lake zoo (garbage dump with lots of black bears), had a few picnics and overall had a nice relaxing time. Ryan came up Labor Day weekend and picked us up.

* Derek and Elise are expecting number 2, due some time in April. I was really excited to hear that we will have kids together.

* Dwayne and Laura had a beautiful baby girl (which was my guess :) ) Eliana Brooklyn - Aug. 21

* I had planted tomatoes at my mil's this spring and boy did they produce!! I have never seen soo many tomatoes! and big ones!! We made a few salsa's, I froze some and Ryan has been eating about 3 a day :)

* I also had my ultrasound this month, we are always excited for that. We got to see Baby 3, we don't know what we are having so you'll just have to wait along with us. I measured right on and we are still due Jan. 30th.

* Two of my sister-in-laws were due this month, on the same day. Both lady's went over due and one decided to be induced, well wouldn't you know both delivered that same day! Lori and Pete had another little boy, Eli Edward and Jesse and Jessica had a little girl, Carly Joy. Both families are doing well.

* Ryan was able to help Pete out with harvest driving truck for a couple of days.

* I started a Beth Moore Bible study on Monday nights, it has been very good!

* Last weekend Emma and I were able to take part of Women in the woods weekend. We had a good time we had beautiful weather and got to know more women of our church. We also got to have wagon rides pulled by a horse, which was very exciting for Emma. The next day Emma got to go on a horse ride by herself (well led around on a horse), she was soo excited to do that.

* Dakota is growing, she finally got out of 12 month clothing to 18 month clothing and size 4 shoes. She got another tooth one of her "I" teeth. She has learned to nod with yes, and shake her head with no, which is very helpful when she is not able to say what she wants. She loves to do what her big sister does (except jump on the trampoline) its fun to see her mimic. She doesn't say much (Mama and Emma) but only when asked to. She can be funny at times like a little tease, but most always has a big smile!! She is an absolute sweetheart!

* A friend of mine just recently told me she is expecting! I am so excited for her and her husband this will be number 3 for her too.

* We are able to work off some of our rent so we are busy with projects on the house when the weather is nice.

* We were able to go to Steinbach area a few weekends ago and see some old Red Lake friends (Matthew/Rhonda, Daryl/Robyn, Marcia (Frey) / hubby, Michelle Frey, Paul/Rhoda Frey, Dan/Brenda, Tammy/Menno, Dwayne/Laura). It was great to laugh and see each others children growing up. Nice time to connect, but as always not long enough!!

* Our church was expecting 11 babies at one point this summer (July). Since then 6 of them have been born, 3 girls and 3 boys. Needless to say the church has been busy with baby showers :)

Well that should be enough for a little bit. I will try to some pictures, maybe in the next day or two, we'll see.

I should go nighty-nite.

Whoa, it has been a while!

Some one in the past few days has told me to blog, so here I am.

I have to tell you a cute story about Emma. We are at the fair and she has to go to the potty. With the door shut and in the stoll the door itself is about the middle of Emma's back when she is standing by it. After she gets off the potty and is pulling up her panty's she says, "Mama, I don't want anyone to see my bum". Her bum was wide out in the open, the door didn't come down far enough to cover anything on her :) I laughed, anyone walking in would have gotten a good mooner!! hehe. Nobody came in then so no one got mooned :)

We've been around pretty much all summer. We are still looking for a place to buy, but have recently found a place to rent till next summer, its for a Christian couple that only live in the area for the summer. They have a beautiful big! log home. We will continue to look for some land and possibly poor some foundation for a house this fall yet. We'll see how that goes!

As for some of you who don't know I am expecting #3 and I'm still feeling pretty crummy, pretty much nauseated all the time. Sure hope this passes soon. I am 13 weeks along, and got to hear the baby last week, so that was pretty exciting. I hope next month Ryan will be able to come along to meet the Dr., although we both know him since he goes to our church.

I'm pretty bummed because I had a great opportunity this year to go on the women's canoe trip! I would have loved to have gone!!! But Grandma Becky will be busy taking care of another grandchild that week so I had to refuse.

Emma is going to be 3 in a few weeks and is looking forward to that. She is into her ABC's and loves to sing that song. If you listen closely enough you will realize she doesn't say the J, but other then that it sounds great. She is also into saying "WHY" for EVERYTHING!!! Okay that drives me a little bit nuts at times. She has named baby 3, "Keeya" the name of a doll she plays with at Grandma's house, I guess that name isn't too bad.

Dakota is figuring out where her body parts are so that is fun to play with her. She has gotten a few more teeth this month and has a great sense of humor. She often has a smile on her face and is usually pretty agreeable. She's into following her sister around and doing what she does, but most times someone ends up crying. She is a sweetheart!

Ryan is working hard, and still comes home most days later then I would like. One nice thing about our upcoming move we will be a few miles closer to Ryan's work, and that means home faster :) He is still a wonderful husband and father and I love him a lot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyhoo that's the scoop I'll try to post some pictures soon.
signing off
Mel