Our life in the Rocky Mountains

We feel extremely blessed to be able to live here again. We lived here 6 years ago and really enjoyed it then. This time around, we are in a new house but with the same church and that is really special. Our children have lots of opportunity to re-connect with old friends and are also making new ones (and trying to stay in touch with old ones).

It's so pretty here! We are just about all settled in and it's starting to feel like home now. We try to go hiking a lot and visit local attractions like the local zoo and parks. A few recent pictures:

Taking a Saturday morning hike

Having fun at the zoo

More fun at the zoo

Soccer Camp with church friends

Enjoying the scenery

New friends :)

Hiking

We've moved and are enjoying the beautiful scenery :)

Video Link

A timely message to America (and every nation):

http://youtu.be/stPCMvM3R_M

Since last post...

A lot has happened! I wasn't able to share on social media while he was away but Chad was deployed for 1/2 of a year and recently returned. It has been so wonderful having him back!! He also took several weeks off so we could have time to reconnect as a family and to take a couple family vacations. We visited Branson, MO and a few beaches in FL. Chad is now is back to "normal" work and we are wrapping up the school year and getting ready to move for our next assignment. Lots of changes to come...

Pics below:

A joyful reunion at the airport

A fun family vacation

Hello Neglected Blog :)

It has been a looooong time! For some reason, I cannot both update blog regularly and be on Facebook at the same time. So, I am giving up FB for awhile. Does anyone even still read this blog? If you do, please comment so I can see if it's worth it to update here. A lot has changed since last Christmas: 

-Evan is walking 

-Adelyn is finally potty trained

-Anna and Libby have been doing an online program for homeschool (which they love)

-Daddy has been working a lot but doing well in his job 

-Christopher learned how to ride his bike

-He and Emma continue to excel in reading 

-We'll be moving to another state in a couple of months. 

-Parenting 7 children is a balancing act. 

-Both of my parents are engaged to other people and that has been a huge adjustment for me to comprehend

-God is faithful even in the midst of suffering 

Recent pics:

I have lost close to 40lbs with Trim, Healthy Mama (just passed my 1 year "Trimaversary")🎉

Anna is 12 now...how did this happen? She has Dad's personality!

Libby is 10 and is so much like her mom in personality!

Sophia is 8 now, loves to draw and ride her bike

Christopher is 6 now and turning out to be a spectacular young man!!

Emma is 5 and learning so much!

Adelyn is cute and entertaining...becoming very talkative :)

Evan is one and on the run! What a joy he is :)

Merry Christmas 2014

Growing Up (ages)

Update

We discovered that Christopher has amblyopia and needs glasses.  We are working with a great Opthomologist to get his eyes (both) working their very best.  He has to wear a patch over his dominant eye to help the weaker one to get stronger 6-8 hours a day for 6-8 weeks at least.  So far the glasses are improving his sight...praise God!  Oh how we love our sweet little boy!

This was his last night of baseball.  He did great and had a lot of fun :)

Our beautiful older girls are such a blessing to us :)

They did a great job at their most recent piano recital

Anna and Libby hosted a tea party with their close friends from church.  They were great hostesses!

There is so much more I could write (but don't have pictures to go with)...

Evan is 9 months old now.

We have A LOT of travels coming up.

Anna began voice lessons.

I have lost 25 lbs eating the Trim Healthy Mama way.

We had a nice visit recently with my Dad.

It's busy here but we are so blessed by God's goodness to us!

Blessings, 

Sandi

Vacation and Work Trip with Chad (part 2)

Our 2 week trip with Chad on the east coast was a nice get-a-way but it was not completely a vacation.  Chad still worked almost daily and we still did chores and made it educational for the kids.  We made friends, went to libraries and tried to keep our normal schedule as much as possible.  We got to eat a lot of good food which was nice and I didn't have to cook everyday :). We had to make a trip to the ER as Emma was having breathing difficulties in the middle of the night one night.  The nice thing is we were staying on an AF base and the ER was close-by.  Emma ended up needing a breathing treatment and steroids to give her the strength to get better.  We were surprised with how quickly our children made friends with the other children in church.  They had play dates and outings all set up and that was nice too.  

Pics below:

Evan turned 7 months while we were away

Reading library books was a big part of our trip. Adelyn loves Curious George and all things "monkey"

Visiting a pretty amusement park

Daddy won Emma a giant donut which she was so happy about :)

Mommy having a mother-daughter outing with Libby: ice cream and pedicures (we love our one-on-one time with each of our children!)

Enjoying some really good Indian food!

Vacation and Work Trip with Chad (part 1)

Chad works out of state sometimes and this time we got to go with him!  We were able to visit a new church, visit some historical sites and museums, an aquarium and a couple beaches!  Here are some pics from our trip:

Family pic

Evan's first time to the beach this trip

Anna caught a crab

Libby found a baby jelly fish

Sophia caught some little shells in a net she was "fishing" with :)

Libby collected lots of fresh seaweed and even tasted it!

Christopher had a lot of fun playing in the sand :)

The little girls had fun playing in the water with Daddy

Playing together :)

The older girls and I climbed to the top of a lighthouse (191 steps!)

At a local historic sight learning what our country was like long ago

History

Cool sights

Learning about glass blowing.  Watching a pitcher being made.

A fun museum with animals and fish.  As you can tell, our children are very curious :)

Family pic by a lake at the museum

This Week

The girls entered their first spelling bee (with other local homeschoolers) and did great!

Anna placed 2nd for 5th grade.  Libby 1st place for 3rd grade.  Sophia 2nd place for the 2nd grade.

Evan turned 6 months and started eating rice cereal

The girls and I are sewing burp cloths for a few families we know

Oh and I must share this recipe with you!  We have all been enjoying these the past several weeks.  You just grab one in the morning, eat cold and it fills you up until lunch!   

                                           Basic Overnight Refrigerator Oatmeal

1/2 cup old fashioned oats, 1/2 cup milk (we use almond but any will work), 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 Tbsp chia seeds, 1 heaping tsp sweetener of your choice (we like Truvia), add 1/2 scoop of whey vanilla protein powder (optional), then add fruit or nuts or any other flavors you like.  Apple cinnamon with a peeled and chopped green apple and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon is all of our favorite!  I personally like lemon berry with lemon extract and frozen mixed berries too.  Stir.  Make the night before in glass jars and breakfast is ready when you wake up...no cooking!  

More ideas and original recipe here: http://www.theyummylife.com/Refrigerator_Oatmeal