"Why doesn't He talk to me?"

Aspen's number one question about God right now goes like this.

"Why doesn't God talk to me? God! Talk to me!"...pause..."See mom, I don't hear anything. Why doesn't he talk to me? Why can't I hear him?"

He's been bringing this up a lot, and boy is that a hard one to explain. Yes, God loves you. No, it does not mean that he doesn't love you if you don't hear him, but he doesn't talk like me and you. He talks to us in the Bible and through our thoughts.....

And you know, it really is a valid question. I've wondered the same thing myself.

After having this conversation with him, I often ask God to talk to Aspen in a way that he will know it's God talking to him.

I just thought I'd update life a little with what's going on with us right now.

Aspen is still high energy, but he is such a joy to be around (most of the time!). I've seen a big change in his attitudes and obedience in the last couple months, and am so thankful for that. One night I was just feeling overwhelmed and frustrated with the daily ups and downs of parenting him, and I stumbled across a website on parenting. I read through it and started putting some new things into practice. It really took no time for things with Aspen to change around. He is incredibly smart and perceptive and is such a quick learner. He is very loving and tells me every day how much he loves me. I am soaking it up now because I know the time is coming way too soon where that won't be happening! The next thing we have to work on is the arguing. I am getting a little weary of the constant negociations.

He is learning to play nicely with Journey. The problem is that he knows how to bug her.... Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, huh? The things he does to bug her right now are: all the sudden he really wants to play with Journey's dolly's, he will come up and give me a full, possessive hug in front of Journey, or he will swipe whatever she was just about to pick up/play with just because she wants it. Yes, this drives me crazy. Especially when they fight over me.

Aspen has taken part ownership of my lap top. We set up a kids web browser on my computer called Kidzui, and he loves to search for and play new games. There are literally hundreds of games to choose from on there. About once a week, Aspen and I will have a "date". Basically, a date is just a time where just him and I go somewhere together. It could be the grocery store, or more often, the coffee shop. It's fun to spend time with just him, and he seems to really value it. He reminds me everytime we are in the car alone together that we're on a date :)

He has also been learning to love some of the things Mark enjoys like remote control rock crawlers and spending time on the boat. Mark took Aspen out last week to be apart of the Christmas ships. He had a blast, and was so proud to be one of the "guys" (Ryan and Mark's dad went too). They didn't get home until 10pm, so he was pretty proud of being able to stay up so late!

Today, Troy and Tyler came over on 4-wheelers since they can't drive their cars in the snow. Mark took Aspen on a ride around the neighborhood in the blizzard. Apparently, they were doing cookies on the 4-wheeler (so glad I didn't see that!), every time Mark asked Aspen if he was scared he said he wasn't and that he loved it! Too bad Mark got rid of the rhino. They would have a blast in the snow and ice that we are having.

Journey is still my sweet girl. She loves to cuddle in the rocking chair at night, and prompts me to sing "Jesus Loves Me" over and over by saying "Jesaah, Jesaah". She will snuggle up totally still against me as long as I will sit there. It's so sweet, and I try to soak it up each night.
She has become my shopping buddy because she hates it if I ever leave her behind. I have never had a problem with her at the store (like I did with Aspen at this age countless times!), and we just enjoy being together.

She loves Aspen, but has a piercing scream for him whenever he does something that makes her mad. It really drives me crazy! Oh, and one more thing, she is a total Papa's girl. She has my dad's heart, and it's so cute to see her with him. As soon as she sees him, she will say his name in the sweetest way, as if she's in love with him. I need to get it on video one of these days, so that we don't forget it.

Christmas Ships

Can I first just say that I can not wait to get a new camera??! All these grainy shots are killing me. Anyways, Mark is mooring his boat on the Willamette River for the winter. He noticed some boats in the marina getting decorated for the Christmas ships. His first idea was for us to go out and watch the Christmas ships on the water this year. Well, that soon morphed into him meeting the guy who heads up the Christmas ships and signing up to be apart. Mark quickly decorated the boat (complete with a fishing pole catching a tuna!), and we joined them last night for the first time. It was a lot of fun.

Well, as you all know, Mark doesn't do anything half way. Tonight he is out on the river again, but this time in St. Helens. Since it is so far away, he is spending the night on the boat. Yes, in the 20 degree, predicted snowy weather. Yep, I'm pretty sure he's crazy!

Piggies!!!

Yay! Journey's hair has grown just long enough for me to put it into piggy tails! Okay, so it's just the hair on the sides of her head. The top is still very short. But you have no idea how long I've been waiting for this day! She even let them stay for the whole day.

A Little More Random

Aren't the pictures amazing? These are updated pictures of the completed pool area at the club house of Mark's condo project in Costa Rica. Mark took them on his trip last month. His next trip will be in January for the broker's opening. It's going to be a huge party, and I'm hoping that I will be able to make the trip with him :)

This is a picture of my new lap top. Actually, it's the first computer that hasn't been a hand-me-down. I feel so special! Ha ha. It's cool because it's so tiny that it fits in my purse.

I recently got a job one day a week. I had forgotten how much I loved doing hygiene. It's a great, laid back office, and I am really enjoying it so far. With the economy the way it is, we have changed a lot in our approach to our finances. We have made some big goals and are working toward paying off our debt. We are hoping to pay off our car by the end of this month!

Now I just have to figure out how to keep up with all the office work for Mark...

Tea Parties and Other Things

Unfortunately, our camera broke about a month ago. I am hoping to buy another soon. I'm missing so many great moments! A couple weeks ago I remembered that I have a child sized tea set, so I got it out to see if Journey would want to have a tea party. The pictures above are from our party. I had Mark take them on his I-Phone, thus the quality.

Anyways, Journey loved it! I put milk in the tea pot, and she had a blast drinking out of the little cups with me. I see a lot of tea parties in our future...

We spent Thanksgiving with Mark's family. No pictures, but we all had a great time. This year was the first year I can remember that we didn't have any snow up there, but the boys had a great time playing outside on the Jeep power wheel 4-wheeler and just generally running around being boys. Ava and Journey also enjoyed playing with each other. There were quite a few of us getting sick or getting over being sick, so we only spent one night and did not go down to the beach like we normally do.

Journey

Here are some of the new things she is saying and doing...

"Uh oh babies" - she loves to say this all the time

She waves her hand when getting her diaper changed and says "pee yoo, what a mess!"

She is very aware of when Aspen gets to go with Mark somewhere, and does not want to be left out. She will say "ready t' go?" or "wanna go?".

Journey is still very laid back and well, easy! Of course my only reference point is Aspen, and by the time he was Journey's age, I was already in the thick of the disciplining stage. I can generally tell Journey "no" or "come here", and she will just do it. Can you say, complete opposite of Aspen? Aspen has a very sweet and kind heart, but he is defintely a challenge for us. He questions everything (like his dad), and that can really wear you out!

Home Brewin'

Mark's newest hobby is brewing his own beer, and I think we are actually saving a little money doing it! We started out making hard cider with the apple cider we pressed at my parent's house. So good! Mark has also made Hefievisen and an IPA type beer. Each brew has progressivly gotten a little better.

Straining out all the hops, oatmeal and other non-liquid ingredients.

Here it is in the "car boy" all ready to start fermenting. In about 12 hours the yeast will be working over time and we will hear the bubbling as it ferments. For the first couple days everytime we open the cupboard, we get hit with the scent of yeast.

I think this is one of the best (and most useful!) hobbies Mark has ever had. It's been a lot of fun.