This video is 16 minutes long, but it is amazing.
The forces of nature at work…
home is…earth, wind, and fire.
Category: life in general
UPDATED: fires in colorado
Source: google.com via stephany @ on Pinterest
Gosh, they scare me.
My parents, aunt and uncle, and many friends live in the foothills west of Denver.
I also have cousins and an aunt and uncle who live up in the Vail Valley.
Source: google.com via stephany @ on Pinterest
As of right now, they are safe.
That could change in an instant.
Did you see that 32,000 people have been evacuated near Colorado Springs?!
The fire doubled in size OVERNIGHT!
Huge fires are burning west of Fort Collins, Boulder, and Colorado Springs.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of houses could be destroyed this summer.
If I could send the rain and cool temperatures that we have been “enjoying” here in the Pacific Northwest to Colorado I would in an instant.
Please pray for Colorado.
Please pray for rain.
Please pray for my family, friends, and their neighbors.
How can we help?
Please visit this website.
I will post more information about how we can help from out of state as I find it.
home is…praying for my native state.
no balloons
For the first time in the five summers of living in this house we did not make it to the Tigard Festival of Balloons.
I love to get up early beginning on Friday morning and walk down to the park to watch the balloons launch.
Unfortunately, it was rainy.
Friday.
Saturday.
And, Sunday.
When my 5:20am alarm went off each morning, I listened for the rain, heard it on the roof, and went back to sleep.
Here are a few photos from years past…
And, you can see my posts from last year here and here.
It all worked out ok as baby girl woke up on Friday morning with a fever, so we spent the day lounging and fighting her fever.
By Saturday she was getting some energy back, so we headed out to goodwill while the boys washed Ben and took Odyssey for a swim.
We found a couple of treasures…
so, I have new projects to work on.
By Sunday afternoon, the sun began to come out…
These horses were out on my drive home from Trader Joe’s.
And, I was able to get out and enjoy my happy place a little bit.
We weren’t able to cross balloon festival off our summer list, but we’ll be working on some other items this week.
Stay tuned for a peek into our home later this week…
Oh, also…
Source: kellehampton.com via stephany @ on Pinterest
Kelle liked my yellow dress!
home is…no hot air, but lots of rain.
full
Lately, I start my mornings outside in what I call the best seat in the house.
Odyssey likes to share my coffee.
Yesterday, I found this knocked over.
Kind of a bummer.
growing up
I signed the little guy up for camp this week.
Every morning.
As of yesterday morning, he had only gone to one day.
Monday.
He was brave.
After a little bit of a struggle {read: he was hugging me and my legs and not letting go} he walked into the big gym and played along side with kids twice his age.
When I picked him up, he looked so little.
His Batman backpack dwarfing his body.
He wasn’t happy.
He wanted to be with his mommy.
He hurt his toe.
It was cool outside, and they were in the pool for a long time.
I kept him home the next two mornings.
Yesterday, Ryan was home.
He wanted the little guy to go.
I totally understand the lesson he wanted to teach…you sign up for something {and Poppa works hard to make the money that pays for things} and you follow through.
The little guy went to camp.
He walked into that big gym.
He was brave.
He looked so little.
He IS so little.
I wanted him to be home with me.
I cried the whole way home.
When I got home, I cried as Ryan hugged me.
I have to admit, I signed him up for camp for selfish reasons.
I thought I would need the time away from him.
But all I want is to be with him.
And, baby girl.
They are growing up.
Right. Before. My. Eyes.
selfish reasons
I couldn’t wait to pick him up.
Baby girl and I mailed a colton+cadence order and made a quick stop at Goodwill.
Then we went to pick up the little guy.
I told him how brave he was.
I told him how proud I was of him.
I have to admit, I was telling him those things for selfish reasons.
To make myself feel better.
He had fun at camp.
When we got home, I pickled some cucumbers while the kids had a little lunch and quiet time.
Then we went on an adventure.
Local farm stores…
and, Sonic for ice cream…
before dinner!
We played outside in the backyard until Poppa came home.
Baby girl was exhausted after her bath and was asleep the second her head hit the pillow.
The little guy was having trouble going to sleep, so he got to come downstairs and play outside with the neighbors while Ryan and I worked in the garden.
Sometimes big boys get to stay up past bedtime.
I have to admit, I let him stay up way past bedtime for selfish reasons.
To spend time with him that I had missed in the morning.
To redeem myself.
And, to make myself feel better.
Filled.
home is…learning from our mistakes.
it was a good day
Yesterday at 7am, as my post went live, I heard a meow outside in our backyard.
I listened again, carefully, because I had been hearing imaginary meows for almost 2 days.
Sure enough, it was a loud meow…
I ran downstairs and looked out the back door.
I was Hobbes!
He was covered in pine needles and cobwebs, but nothing worse.
He was purring and so happy to see the kids and me.
Both of the kids were happy he was home.
I fed him, gave him his insulin, and made sure that he was inside as we left for school.
On our return from school, the kids got on bikes and we went through the neighborhood taking down our fliers.
After that we headed out to the backyard and found a big mouse in the middle of the extra dog bed we have been keeping outside.
Hobbes brought home a trophy from his adventure!
As an extra bonus, Lala asked me to put a ponytail in her hair…something she has refused to let me do forever!
And, Ryan surprised us by coming home for the night between travel from Montana to California!
home is…having the family back together again.
nana’s here
home is…being with the ones we love.
photos from m{i}phone
It’s been a while.
Why don’t we catch up…
home is…lots of fun thrifting, playing, creating, and spending time with people we love.
unexpected
It’s been quite a week.
Ryan’s been traveling for work.
Ben has been sick.
And, the weather has been wacky!
We have had more snow showers in the last week than we had all winter.
That’s not saying much for Portland, but it’s also saying a lot for Portland.
We don’t get much snow.
Rain, yes.
Snow, no.
So, while the rest of the country was enjoying spring or summer like temperatures today, let me remind you what winter looks like.
It started around 5pm on Tuesday Wednesday night…
Just falling, not sticking.
If you follow my Instagram feed (homeisablog), you may have seen some photos taken at 1am…I couldn’t sleep.
This morning we got outside early.
And, built a snowman.
“Hello, Snowman. I am Lala.”
(for the record, she no longer wants to be called a baby girl)
Ryan was worried about our recently sowed spinach, lettuce, and kale. I found (and knew from experience in Colorado) that snow insulates, so you shouldn’t cover your plants in the snow.
Despite the fact that it wasn’t even a normal school day for the little guy we declared it a “Snow Day!”
The little guy plowed snow with his new monster truck.
Our snowman watched happily.
The little guy decided the shovel was a better plow.
Lala gave it a try, but she wasn’t into the hard labor. According to her, snow pants were not acceptable fashion this morning.
So, I took some photos.
The little guy visited with the snowman.
And, posed for a photo.
Lala decided sitting in a chair under a blanket was warmer than playing in the snow. (Did I mention the not wanting to wear snow pants?!)
She’s smart, but…
…she’s got to learn to be tough if she’s gonna hang. We’ve got camping, skiing, and lots of other outdoor activities to do.
So, I snapped some more photos while the kids rested and played.
The blue sky was peeking through.
I am sure the Camellia would have been just fine without the snow.
There are definitely more to come.
By the afternoon, our snowman was all the snow that was left of our “Snow Day!”
He’s slumping a bit.
Looking watch over our garden.
By dinner, the kids were over the snow.
Lala moved on to dress up.
“Bat-Lala to the rescue!”
She was telling me that she needs a Lalaloopsy costume.
I agree.
These kids were raised in Oregon…they’re not used to snow.
We’ll have to see what our snowman does at night.
Stay tuned…
home is…an unexpected winter storm during the first full week of spring.
encouraging news
Yesterday morning, we took Ben to our regular vet after our trip to the emergency vet on Saturday.
We’re going to take everything step by step. Get his vomiting and other gastrointestinal issues calmed down and then re-evaluate. So, for now he is on meds to try to calm everything down in addition to a bland diet. If things don’t improve, come back, or get worse once we start to reintroduce his regular diet, then we will do some further testing.
Again, thanks for all your prayers, positive energy, and offers to help
home is…encouraging news.
think of all the money i am saving
Seriously.
Although, all things considered, I used to make 2-3 trips to Target a week.
I haven’t been to Target in weeks.
But, I have been to Value Village and Goodwill multiple times in the last few weeks,
Some days I spend some money.
And, believe it or not, there are some days when I walk out with nothing.
But, I never spend as much as I do at Target.
Think if all the money I am saving!
Actually, I have found a few great “junior” games for the kids…Scrabble, Boggle, Monopoly…all for under $3 each.
I also found an air hockey game for the little guy…and we can set it up on any table.
And, I found a children’s guitar. My mom visits next week and it needs it strings switched out, etc. but the little guy LOVES it!
I have some more thrifting finds to share.
I have also been crafting and decorating around our house.
What do you like to look for when you go thrifting?
home is…saving money.
stephany taddeo 