Finally settled.... for a few months

So I have been terrible at updating because we lost our camera over a year ago. :( However we got a new one for Christmas so I have been able to take more pictures.

Our life has been so busy this past year. We put all our stuff in storage in May and have moved all around until January. Stanley did rotations all over the country and the kids and I stayed with family. It was so great to be close to family especially while Stanley was gone. We were so blessed by so many people I felt that the Lord was providing so many people to make this past year great, even though it was probably the hardest yr ever.

We are enjoying getting all settled in again in Portland. We have been away so much it helped us realize how much we really love the city and all the friends we have made here. We are lucky enough to live a little out of town in a beautiful home. Our friend made an apartment out of the lower level of his home so we are living there. It is in a beautiful forest and there is lots of room for the kids to play and explore.

*This picture was taken during the 1 week that is snows in Portland. The next day it was all melted*

Poor Stanley has worked a crazy schedule this month. He has had to work a 30hr shift every 4 days. It was hard to get use to. I am glad it is almost over. I was nervous about taking care of all 3 kiddos alone for those long shifts but we figured out a schedule and have all survived. haha. I have actually made it to church on time with all 3 kids by myself. I was pretty proud of myself.

Isabella is getting to be such a little girl. She loves to paint her nails and play princess. Speech Therapy has really helped her and she is talking up a storm and we can understand most all of it. She is very bossy and loves to play make believe and tell Isaac what to say and do. Often I hear her repeating things I say and tattle telling on Isaac. I am sure that is normal for the oldest. Isaac bares it well and usually plays along. Isabella's favorite show currently is Go Diego Go. She can watch a show in the morning and all day long she will be acting it out or coloring pictures about what happened in that episode. She loves to play with her baby, especially while I am tending to Tristan. She is such a good big sister and helps with Tristan a lot. She loves to hold him and kiss him. We have started playing board games with her. She enjoys them but usually has a hard time playing to the end of a game. Isabella is so sweet and polite. She always says Thank You and Your Welcome. In fact if someone doesn't say it she tells them to and bugs them until they say thank you. She is getting to the age that she understands so much and picks up on things that we are talking about. It is so fun.

Isaac is so sweet. He understands and talks much more than kids his age. He is much easier to reason with. Thomas the Tank engine is his favorite toy. He builds tracks and plays with trains and freight cars all day long. He literally will ask for them when he gets up and we have to take them away before bed. He and Isabella love playing together. They will take their trains and play make believe for hrs. Yesterday when Stanley got home Isaac asked if he was a doctor? Stan laughed and said yes. So Isaac ran to his doctor set and put on his white coat and said he was a doctor too. He loves being just like his daddy. Stan got a "Stanley " Train for Christmas as a joke from my parents. Most days Isaac brings "Stanley" to daddy so he can play trains with him. Isaac has much more patience for games, he can play Candy Land to the end and not get board. He also loves his little brother Tristan. Each morning he asks when Tristan will wake up. When he does wake up both kids want to give him a kiss and hug. Isaac gets this sweet look on his face and talks in a baby cooing voice and says "Mom he is so tiny!'

Tristan is such a cutie! He has a sweet little face and little turned up nose. I get compliments on his features especially his nose. It always makes me laugh. He seems to have a touch of colic so he isn't as content as we would like but I am sure he will grow out of it soon. He sleeps pretty well and loves to be held and snuggled. He is just starting to smile and make cooing noises. It is so fun having a new born again. It is a little crazier but that's nothing new for us.