Sweet Ivy turns TWO!!!

Can she really be two already? My oh my! How time has flown by these passed two years...

My beautiful princess... My sweet little darling...

The passed two years have been full of so much growth, adventure and love!

Ivy has a fun personality. She loves to collect things... Anything! Ha. Im pretty sure she's a type 1 according to Carol Tuttle. She loves:
Her dolls
Reading books
Climbing on the counter
Climbing onto the bathroom counter and playing in the water
She loves water
Being outside anytime
Kittens and cats even if they scratch... She gets past that quick
All animals (she may become a vet)
Stars and the moon
Stroller rides
Her mommy
Her daddy
Her big brother Eli

Ivy has a very determined personality, but I have learned that the more I focus on communicating with her, the more agreeable she is. Seems so simple and yet it has to remain a constant focus for me.

Ps - the hideous cake I made below is gluten, sugar and dairy free. No one wanted any haha! I'll learn one of these days how to be satisfied with ingredients and please my family! ;)

Painting pumpkins and gourds

Tonight we painted pumpkins and gourds. I'll post pics soon of the finished products :)

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

My little Ivy girl loves to sing and dance!  She is very much a girly girl, which has been quite the surprise to me as I was always more of a tomboy (I'm sure I was more girly than I give myself credit for, but that's how I remember things).  Anyways, her pronunciation needs a little bit of work, but one song she absolutely LOVES is Twinkle twinkle little star! If she's upset about something, all I have to do is start singing this song and she'll calm right down.  It's really sweet. I'll have to get a recording of her singing and post it because it's just precious!

Now, if I can just get this girl to let me fix her hair (I should've started putting more in her hair when she was a little baby and perhaps she'd be a little more supportive...).

What we do

Dirt is our friend these days. I guess dirt + water so technically mud...

The Jarman's visit!!

My brave little sister came to visit us last week with her four kids un tow! She's amazing (I'm afraid to go almost anywhere with two kids and without Dirk... Plus, she has a sweet ride) and I give her big props for her bravery!

Needless to say, we had a really good time! Sara and three of her kids got foot zone treatments from my friend Susan (she does amazing work) and after that we did our best to be healthy! Lots of red raspberry leaf tea and green smoothies... Ahhh, I love my seester!! Eli and Ivy get along so well with their cousins that it makes life easy for me (I'm not required for so much entertainment). Levi, Sara's oldest, is so awesome. He can clean like no other seven year old I know!!

Here are a few pics from their visit:

Eli turns 4!!!

Eli turned four on Thursday, but we waited to celebrate until Friday so we could party it up with his cousins in good ol' St. Geezy!! It was a blast for about the 30 minutes that it lasted! ;). We hit the piñata, collected candy and then ate cupcakes. Eli opened a couple of presents in there too.

My fabulous mother and awesome sister Sara had chicken enchiladas ready when we got into town and then had the cupcakes all ready for us too. :). Sara's boy Levi is such a great cousin! He picked a tractor for Eli for his birthday and it was "the best part"! :D!

I love my big four year old! Eli is my helper. He's very kind and considerate, thoughtful and loving! I'm so glad he came to our family!

My munchkins!!!

I LOVE everyday that I get to spend with my sweeties!... Which is almost every single day (accept when I'm in Peru)!

Honestly, they are so much fun to be with and Ivy is getting out of her clingy mommy stage which makes the days easier for me.

The only things that would make my days better would be 1). To have dirk home with us much more often and 2). A part time maid (or full time... I wouldn't be picky)!

Loving my days! God has been good to me! :).

Zucchini Pasta

Tonight I made homemade marinara sauce with tomatoes from our garden and it turned out delicious if I do say so myself (I bottled 10 extra pints...yes)!

Then I made regular noodles for the fam, but knew I couldn't eat them. So, instead, I just grated some zucchini and sautéed it for a bit with coconut oil and that is what I used for my noodles. I thought it was so delicious that next time I think l'll serve it to the whole family!

Stomach pains and Juicing

Yesterday I had a severe bout of something in my stomach.  We were at Dirk's parents house and I suddenly had to just lay down or I was going to throw up.  Dirk came over (to where I was laying sprawled out on the grass by myself... I"m sure I looked goofy, but I didn't care) and I told him I needed to go home.  LONGEST DRIVE OF MY LIFE!  Finally, after a couple of stops so I could throw up out the door and eventually clambering to the back of the van so I could lay flat, we made it home.  I went straight to my bed and laid there for a few hours, sleeping and trying not to be nauseous.

UGH... I hate feeling so ill!

Today I'm feeling a bit better although my stomach is still quite tied up in knots.  I've not had anything in over 24 hours accept water and some freshly bottled apple juice and just barely a fresh cup of vegetable juice...  

Dirk pulled out the juicer and we went and picked some fresh cucumbers, beets and carrots out of the garden.  I couldn't think of anything else that I could eat or drink that would make me feel settled.  The blend tasted good (with a little bit of added apple juice) although I'm still a bit nauseous.  Hopefully by tomorrow I'm back to myself.  There's a lot to do and I don't want Dirk to have to stay home from work... we will see.

ELI'S PRESCHOOL

Eli had his first day of preschool while I was in Peru (sigh..).

He loved it!  

He really loves learning and being around friends...

It's one day a week for only two hours so not very long...

I went to drop him off last week and he got out of the car and I got out with him and then he says "mom, I'll be fine.  You can go now." So I watched him walk around to the back door entrance and go in all by himself.  He likes to be independent... it's very charming! 

He's sneezing in this picture...

 Just being cute...

 A little over three feet tall... right on target.

It's so fun to watch Eli grow and mature! My handsome boy!  I love you Eli.

FAMILY'S ARE FOREVER!!!

Tonight I'm in Lima, Peru (Miraflores) and things are going really well here as I'm working on building up mine and Dirk's Nikken business and that of some of our team members!  The people here are all very kind and we've been treated with much hospitality. :)

What's on my mind tonight though... my dear family!  I was so torn to leave my kids for such a long time (10 days), but Dirk and I knew it was important so here we are making it happen.  Anyways, just because they are on my mind, I'm going to write a few things about each one:

Ivy:

Little Princess

Laughs

Kittens

Animals

cuddly

comfortable

obedient

cute

fun 

strong-willed

spirited

Eli's bff

stroller

Eli:

Obedient

Thoughtful

handsome

Smart

Funny

"Just Kidding"

tractors

bikes

friends

school

Dirk:

Handsome

Kind

gentle

Priesthood

comfortable

prepared

protector

eternity

Love

BFF

I LOVE YOU ALL SOOOOO MUCH!!!!  

LIMA y Our Anniversary!!

I arrived in Lima, Peru this morning at 1am. ALL of Neil's family was at the airport and they all wanted to go eat so we all piled in three vehicles and drive through Lima... CRAZY!! We eat pollo con French fries. I wasn't supposed to eat the delicious looking salad so I didn't.

Then, they went to take me to my apartment and we couldn't find it for about 2 HOURS!!! I know... Very long time! I was still living off adrenaline so all was good. Asleep by 4:30am and then...

I woke up at 8 and got ready for our presentation at Cafe Mezze at 10. Ithe presentation went really well with a lot of people there who are all very interested. Afterwards, I went with Elias, Jacquie, Elvira, Neil, Rosa (la mama) y Amelia (sister of the mother).
We went and ate and looked at the view of he ocean... Very pretty.

Our next charla started at 4pm and it also was very packed! The Jackson's did this presentation as apparently el cafe had us double booked. It was alright just a bit confusing. Thank goodness Geoff and kimball are here!! I wouldn't have come without them...we are great supports for each other (I think they feel the same).

Anyways, I went with the caballeros a la casa de Juan, un hermano para su cumpleanos. We ate, danced and I rubbed magboys on a lot of ladies... Haha. They all liked it. It was a very fun time the only problem was I started to hit a wall about 11pm... Ayyeyey! Finally I got back to apartment at about 11:30pm and just Skyped with dirk and kiddos. I miss them!!! Plus, it's mine and Dirks 5th anniversary today! I LOVE him with ALL my heart. The next time I come, he better be hhere too... Its almost unbearable without him.

It's 12:30 and I need to sleep!!! Thank goodness tomorrow is Sunday and I can rest! :D!!

Buenas Noches!