Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Well, we had a wonderful quiet Thanksgiving at home. I was very thankful to see my hubby! He had all of Thursday and Friday off! It was SO nice to have him home. We just had a relaxing day, enjoying each other. Then on Friday morning, Marvin got up at 5am and headed to Circuit City to get a new tv and sound system. I am so glad we held out, he got such a great deal! He was home before the kids and I woke up. He took care of everything and let me sleep in until....10am!!!!! I don't remember the last time I slept that late, 6 years ago maybe! Once I got my lazy self going, we all headed to Target for a few last minute things and a tv stand. It was crazy, but not nearly as bad as I had thought. Most people get out of our way when they see us coming though, so that helps! After Target, it was time to head home for naps. Marvin put together the tv stand and then when the kids woke up we went to a local "winter wonderland". They have a snow show with fake snow and lights and music and even live reindeer! I tried to get a picture of the kids, but they are all so bundled up, you can hardly see them through hats and coats. We are not used to the cold yet! We picked the perfect Christmas tree and watched Marvin put it on top of the van. After it was all tied down, Marvin put a piece of twine for each of the boys to hold through the door. They really think they held the tree on that roof the whole way home! So funny. We got it up, but after 3 attempts, decided decorating would have to wait(as I cut the lights trying to trim a branch so the star fits on top.). Well, I got it done today and it is very pretty. One last thing. We said good bye to Lulu today. I put an ad on Craig's List about finding her a home. We just don't have a life fitting for a dog. She was getting more and more neglected as the girls get older and need more. So, I found her a wonderful home with 2 sisters that have all the time in the world for her. They can't wait to love her and spoil her the way I wish I could. Hopefully in a year or two we can reexamine our circumstances. I just don't feel quite right without a pup.
A family shot...well, it almost was!

Are we in the North Pole?!?

My very cold cuties!

I was pretty impressed, I got 5 pairs of eyes!

Here it is, the perfect tree!

Hot stuff!

I don't need help! I got this!

Up, up, and over!

Sarah's checking out the twine

UNTIL it stuck to her candy cane hands!

Sam holding the tree on the roof!

Michael and Josh are holding tight too!

Some new pictures!

Joshua all snuggly in his monkey towel

I was sneaky, caught a sweet moment between Josh and Abba

Sweet Abby girl

Sarah thinks the monitor is a telephone

Sam the Man

Abby is looking for her "pretty" (her bow!)


I promise Michael in the next one, he was just NOT cooperating this time around! I got a new camera, so I'm sure you all will get tired of seeing my cuties. They are certainly tiring of being my models!

School day

So, today was the first day of "school" for Michael and Sam. As most everyone knows, I have been homeschooling both boys this year. Well, I was able to join a great homeschool support group here in the area. I have been amazed to see the number of wonderful Christian families homeschooling here. I guess I have always heard that Washington is a bunch of crazy liberals. To be honest, I've met more homeschooling families here than any other place I've lived. Maybe it is just because I am seeking them out now! Anyway, I have been very pleasantly surprised. I went to my first support group on Tuesday of last week and met several other moms just like me! Several of them raved about a program offered at a church about 2 minutes from where we live. I found the info for it online and immediately emailed the lady who runs it for info. She responded right away and said that we can jump right in. It is called Homebased and meets on Mondays from 9am-12:30pm. I got permission to come by today and get the boys signed right up. They were so excited to go to "school" and were thrilled to take their lunch boxes as they eat lunch there. The program is really big and it is packed with fun stuff! They do PE, music, arts and crafts, and Science together with their age groups. When the 2nd Semester starts at the beginning of the new year, they will focus on history/geography instead of Science. It has been a wonderful blessing to get to meet so many other wonderful families who share our burdens and beliefs, especially with Marvin gone as much as he is. The boys are making friends and I am finding great support and friendship as well! We have not yet decided on a church. We think we get it down and then find out about another great one to visit. I think we are just gonna have to stop visiting new ones and pick already, there are so many that are really on fire for God and are eager to serve Him. I truly thought it would be a drought here and finding a church very difficult. It has been truly the opposite, we feel it is just flooding over! What a testament to God and His living, breathing Spirit. He is reminding me through other blogs and quiet time that there is so much in my life to be thankful for. The great thing, however, is that He takes the good stuff and the bad stuff and, if I am a willing vessel, brings Glory from them all. That is my prayer this week. I want to stay focused on my God and live to bring Glory to Him through all the circumstances in my life. I am truly blown away by the love He has so freely given and painfully expressed. If I had nothing else in this world, that would still be so much more than I could ask!

I think I'm in for it!

Okay, so Sarah and Abby have both been teething and there has been a LOT of whining in the last week. So, Friday, I was trying to make all the kids lunch and Sarah was whining and pulling at my pants. I pulled out some pots and spoons in hopes to distract her so I could get lunch made. That worked for a few minutes, then she was right back on me. So, I hand her a sippy, hoping it would tide her over until the mac n cheese was ready. She put her cup down rather harshly(but I give her some credit for not throwing it across the room!), looked up at me with a not very happy face, stomped her foot and said, plain as day, "I want PACI!" (Paci is what we call her pacifier) I cannot believe that she is only 15 months old. She is a smarty pants, with quite a big attitude for such a little girl!

Back to Our Travels!

Day 6 We all slept peacefully after the fun, exciting times on the island. We found a Walmart parking lot to sleep in that night and so I went in to restock our supplies before we got back onto the road. Oh, and Marvin was able to talk to the generators' manufacturer who told us the easy fix to our problem. So, it was fixed before we went to bed that night. After the quick shopping trip and tearing down beds, setting up car seats and all the logistical stuff, we were on our way again. we decided at the last minute that it would be really fun to go through Minneapolis to the Mall of America. It is the biggest mall in the country and has an amusement park right in the middle. It also has a Rainforest Cafe inside. I knew the kids would love it(as would we, makes it even better!). So, we get there around 4:30 or so. We follow the signs for parking only to come to a light. Marvin said we need to turn here, right/ I said "yes, you are too big to fit there", pointing straight at the 7 foot clearance bar hanging over the road to the parking garage. He didn't here my words, only saw me point and thought I was telling him to go straight. So he did, right to the bar at our eye level. we were stuck in the intersection and now KNOW that we cannot back up! So, the only answer is to undo the van, back it off the dolly and try to maneuver that way. In the mean time, traffic is having to go around our big train in the middle of the intersection. A security officer from the mall came on his bike to direct traffic around us. We got the car off and hoped we could back the dolly just a tad so we could turn our contraption around and head to bus parking. It was still impossible to back the dolly, but we got it done just enough to drive up over the curb and through the grass to turn around. Only, we discovered when taking the car off, that the pin that holds the ramp up had fallen out, so once the weight of the van was off it, the thing scraped along the road, making horrible noises. We found a tire pressure gauge to stuff in the pin's place to get to the parking lot, but had nothing to secure it with. So, Marvin again went looking for something to improvise. He found the package from string cheese and used that to tie each end so it wouldn't slide out. while he was doing that, the head of security walks up and makes sure everything is okay. We had to just laugh! We are fine, we obstructed traffic, drove through your nicely landscaped lawn, and are now using trash to keep us all together, of course we are fine! They were really great in spite of it all! We finally got to our parking area and went to Sears to find something that would work better than string cheese trash to hold the dolly up. Then we went to dinner, which was a blast! So, another character building experience was had! We did the bed down and drive thing again that night so that we could get to our next destination early.
Still Smiling. (Notice Sarah's thumbs up, she's almost got it!)


My crew at The Mall of America


Josh wants to feed the alligator!


My guys(not sure what Sam is doing? What a boy!)


Me and the crew!


Michael wanted to take a picture too!


Then Sam wanted a turn. He did really good, I think!


Day 7 Well, we woke up just a short distance from North Dakota. Our next stop was to visit with my friend from high school and to meet her family. We had kept in touch through email off and on and I was so excited to see her again. Her name is Erin. she has a husband, Pat, and three kids right around the boys' ages. A 5 year old, Madison, 3 year old Jonah, and almost 2 year old Matthew. We got there in time for lunch and that broke the ice a bit between kids. They were all a bit shy, but it only lasted a few minutes! They had a great time playing and we had a wonderful time visiting and catching up. I was able to do laundry and put the girls down for a real nap in a real bed. We stayed through dinnertime. Pat made the BEST chili I have ever tasted! We put jammies on and did the bed building so that we could drive a bit longer that night. It was so good to make a connection again with a good friend! I just wish we lived closer!
Madison was in love with the girls!


Josh and Jonah playing ball with the world


Matthew reading to Abby



Day 8 We slept that night at a rest area that had all kinds of historical fun about Lewis and Clark. We had a good time walking around, looking at statues and reading the plaques, but we couldn't wait around until it opened(and we really didn't want to pay $5/person!). We pulled into Minot, North Dakota around 11am. We pulled into the new Walmart so that Marvin could take the big boys and girls in while Josh and I got a nap. They were gone quite a while, but our nap just didn't work out. We drove around looking for propane and a dump station. Not a hard find this time! So, we continued to the campground that is just down the street from the house I lived in there. Only to find that it was closed for the season. Well, we couldn't turn around, so our only option was to follow a tiny dirt road back out. Worked okay until another car came from the opposite direction. Marvin tried to get out of the way enough for them to get by, but in the process, hit a tree branch. He was not so impressed with the whole situation. There was no real damage, just hurt pride maybe. We took the Q train to the church I went to while we lived there and unhooked the car. I called the pastor and his wife(also my High school Science teacher) and explained that we were in the area and would love to get together and they said it would be fine to park the rv there and to even plug in and use the church building if we wanted to. We made plans to meet for dinner then we went exploring my old home. It was great to visit with James and Diana and even were able to say a quick hello to Tammy and Kenny that night. We were able to use their bath before hitting the hay.

The kids in front of Lewis and Clark and an Indian Chief


Marvin playing it cool with Lewis


The kids and I with the Buffalo


Day 9 The next morning, it felt really good to take some breathing time while the kids enjoyed a not so cold picnic breakfast. Then we headed back to James and Diana's house to visit and eat lunch. My friend Mandy came and brought her 2 little guys, little Kenny and Jonathan. We visited and did some more catching up while the kids played and more laundry was done. It was such a beautiful day that the boys had a blast outside with James playing in the leaves. After lunch we were on our way west once again!

Sweet moment, I caught Abba and Abby dancing together!


Breakfast picnic in the church parking lot


Sarah's such a nut!


Sweet Abby


Fun with little Kenny in the leaves!


Sam? Is that my Sam?


The sunset in North Dakota...breath taking!


Day 10 Was not a very exciting day. We drove pretty hard that day and made good distance. The mountains proved trying at times, but we made it unscathed!

Sleepy babies!


Nice and comfy!


Day 11 There really wasn't much driving this day. As we took off really early so that we could get to Seattle by breakfast time. We almost made it! We found a campground and were SO happy to be parked somewhere! That was the end of our grand journey across America, which only serves the beginning of a whole new Q family adventure!

I'm mostly testing our internet ability, but I thought I'd share a really cute video of Sarah in her beloved tutu. It is amazing how the little ballet arm moves come as soon as she puts it on. Little miss priss! She loves dancing with Abba too!

And of course my little Abby. She isn't quite as aware of her princess status yet, but she loves the attention!

Our Journey Continued!

Day 4 I am really bummed that I have no pictures of our great time at this huge sports store called Cabellas. We had slept in the parking lot and went in as soon as we got fed and dressed that morning. Cabellas is HUGE. It has this big mountain in the middle and as you walk around it, it has tons of real, stuffed animals of all sorts posed as if in action. It is really neat, with fountains, streams, tanks of fish you'd actually fish out of lakes. It is really neat. The kids had a blast and we ate lunch at the cafe inside before we left. Marvin ate an Elk sandwich and I ate something BBQued. It was a lot of fun. After that, we were on our way to my Aunt Becky and Uncle David's house to visit with them and my grandparents. When we got there it was so hot, strange for Michigan in October. At this point, one of those character moments occurred. So, you have heard me say that you can NOT back up with a tow dolly. Everyone told me, which I relayed to my most wonderful hubby. When I thought we were home free in getting there, I bent down to put on my shoes. In that moment, Marvin passed the driveway. No problem, you say, go around the block. Would have worked, BUT we were in the middle of nowhere and there are no blocks. We tried to turn around, but ran out of room and Marvin thought he had skill to back up. NOPE, it is not about skill, it is truly Impossible to back a tow dolly. We were very much stuck cross ways in the road when a truck comes up. We were SO embarrassed, but Marvin gunned it and we drove our train right through a field! We were very happy to finally get to our destination! We had dinner and then a fire with smores(the girls' very first smores ever!). Once the kiddos had baths and were in bed, we had a good time visiting.

Kids kicked back in the heat


Sarah's lovin' the Smores!



Day 5 Well, we went to bed in hotness, but woke up to FREEZING wind! It was very nice while it lasted though! We said good bye and was off with some farm fresh eggs on our way to Mackinaw Island. This is an island just off the coast of Michigan where you have to take a ferry and there are NO motorized vehicles on the island at all. You get around on foot, by bicycle or by horse. They are known especially for their old fashioned fudge and taffy. They make them right there in the shop while you watch. It was REALLY cool...in more then one way. We were so COLD! We ate dinner there, but missed the 5:30 ferry and had to walk around until the next one 2 hours later. It was so cold that Marvin bought me a coat that was for sale in one of the shops. My hero! We were all tired by the time we left there, but it was a lot of fun. We got jammies on and beds made and the kids slept while we drove a while. WE slept in a rest area somewhere in Upper Michigan that night.

Waiting for the ferry in the freezing COLD!

Girls are not too thrilled with winter!

Michaelman is ready for the boat ride!

Josh next to Lake Superior(I think!)

Sam waiting patiently...kinda

Fudge, the old fashioned way!

The girls enjoying the taffy!

Josh likes it too!

Killing time, riding a turtle!

Howdy, partner!

We found a really neat(and warm) toy store

Turtle, turtle
On our way back. (the girls are knocked out in the stroller!)

The next morning...not sure how that happened?