Right now.

A quick time out from this brilliantly sunny day to share a few things that I'm thankful for at this very moment:

• The way Ezekiel responds when Bekah wakes up. "I get her!" he tells me then, both times today, he ran in there and says "Hi baby!! I miss you!" He climbs into her crib and throws his arms around her neck (she is usually screaming by this point, but he doesn't seem to mind).
• My new large capacity washing machine! It is revolutionizing my life. My laundry baskets are nearly empty. EMPTY!! That hasn't happened since like 2005.
• Bekah Jane officially joined Ezkekiel in backyard adventures today. E has always loved playing in the yard and will literally spend hours exploring and playing. This time Bekah was part of the fun - not just from her swing or exersaucer -but walking around getting into trouble and eating dirt. You know, the things that really make kids happy. It was great... and Ezekiel was so happy for a mobile playmate!
• How wonderfully my kiddos played this morning (see bullet above) so that I could get some much-needed stuff done around the house (see bullet re: empty laundry baskets). It was an unusually quiet and peaceful morning.... much needed, especially since most of the time I feel like our house is better described by "chaos" rather than "peace and quiet." PS: As a reward for their wonderfulness, we also had a water fight (see: chaos) which left us soaking wet and giggling like a bunch of kids (oh, wait, they are kids... I just enjoyed the excuse to behave like one).
• Clem the handyman. He came out this morning and did some electrical work that we've needed done forever. Our kitchen lights now look great and he was super affordable. I heart Clem.

Alright, that's it for now. It's been a good day. I know it's not even 2 o'clock but, hey, you've got to celebrate the small stuff!

Ezekiel's Funnies and Catching Up

Things have been busy! Good, but not much time for blogging. Here is a quick re-cap of the latest with our little family:

• Christmas was wonderful! It was so fun to watch the kids open their gifts and see their reactions. Ezekiel kept saying "How cute!" (even if he was just looking at the box!) and Bekah Jane even got into it saying "Oohhhh!" when she opened a gift. Cool family tradition: Every year at Christmas, my parents choose a "family Bible verse" and Dad reads it aloud Christmas morning. My mom prints it on pretty paper and every family gets a copy. It is a passage that we all reflect on throughout the year, and it always seems perfectly appropriate for the experiences we go through as a family during the year. This year, as dad read the passage, it really hit me how much I love this special tradition.


• Bekah Jane turned one!! I can't believe it. We had a great day with a little "Sugar-n-spice" breakfast party in the morning and then dinner out with my parents and sister that night. Kevan and I keep saying that she really seemed to change overnight. She got her top front teeth, is walking all over the place, and has started to show quite the little temper! She is turning into a little girl. I still want to post pics from her b-day and Christmas, but that'll have to wait.


• We are trying to sell our house!!! Big decision. This, combined with the holidays, is what is making things so busy I suppose. We are getting it all ready this week and next (read: making it look how we always wanted it to look... just in time to hand it over to someone else) and plan to put it on the market the week of the 19th. Who knows what will happen, but it's worth a shot. We are hoping to move closer to my family in Yorba Linda... and to get into something just a wee bit bigger.

Ok, I leave you with a couple of the hilarious things my son has done lately. He is my comic relief. I love that kid:

• When we were at my parents' house the other day there was a guy giving an estimate on new cabinets, whose last name is Cowell. As we were leaving, I told Ezekiel to say "Goodbye Mr. Cowell". He looked him in the face and said it perfectly. I was so proud. Then, as we were walking out the door and Mr. Cowell was out of earshot, Ezekiel started saying "Goodbye Mr. COW. See ya later Mr. Cow. Mooooo Mr. Cow.... Bye Mr. Tiger....Bye Mr. Elephant..." He loved his little jokes (and I thought it was pretty funny too!)


• We have been working on getting Ezekiel to respond immediately when we tell him to come (not going so well, by the way). Here's how it played out last Sunday: Me: "Ezekiel come here!" (no movement). Me: "Ezekiel I said come here!" (not a twitch) Kevan: "Ezekiel, Mama is calling you!" Ezekiel (putting his hand to his ear to mimic a phone): "Hello? Hello, Mama? Ok, mama, ok. Bye bye Mama!" The kid is two. Do they really know how to be sarcastic at two?!?

Ok, I have to post at least one picture. Here is Rebekah walking like a champ on her birthday: