Amy Scott's Thoughts

Life at the Beach August 25, 2015

Filed under: Family Time,Parenthood,Travels — Amy Scott @ 9:10 pm

We got back on Saturday from a beach vacation. It was the longest I’ve ever stayed at the beach. It was nice to have a slow pace. We had time to do everything we wanted and then some… sometimes multiple times! We ate way too much food and enjoyed some of our favorite things. There are so many highlights from our trip. It’s hard to figure out what to share without making this blog massive in length! The highlights for me included in eating at some of my favorite places like the Cannon Beach Bakery, Pig’N’Pancake and Mo’s. I enjoyed reading before bed every night and started/finished a book. We took multiple trips to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Owen got so familiar with the cheese factory that he actually directed us around to what he wanted to do while there because he knew where everything was. He developed a deep and passionate love for their Baby Loaf bus. If only we could install one in our backyard. We visited some historical sites like Fort Stevens and Fort Clatsop. We went to the beach multiple times. We did a drive out to Cape Meares Lighthouse and spent a lot of time throwing rocks in the water at Cape Lookout. Jeremy flew his kite and made a great fire on the beach for s’mores. Jeremy also got his shellfish license and went crabbing for the first time. Owen loved having Grandma & Grandma and Auntie & Uncle around to play with at all hours. Owen’s vocabulary expanded and he said many words over the course of the trip that I had never heard before. It was fun to see his mind keep up with his expanding circumstances. There was lots of talk about “wa-wa” and “ba boats”. It was a fantastic trip. Owen loved it and so did we. It’s been quite the adventure keeping up with Owen and seeing the world through his eyes. I’m sure vacations will only get more exciting as he explores the world and experiences things for the first time. I love being along for the ride!

First walk on the beach

Flying a kite

Building a sand castle

Enjoying a windy night on the beach while making s’mores

Fort Stevens

Attempting to take a nap at Fort Clatsop

Owen and Lamby at the Tillamook Cheese Factory

Early morning beach walk with Daddy

Enjoying the view at Cape Meares

Spending a day down south at the Oregon Coast Aquarium and shopping at the Lincoln City Outlets

Tide pools at Haystack Rock

Date Night

Carousal ride in Seaside

Every trip to Tillamook wouldn’t be complete with a ride in Owen’s favorite “ba bus”. He loves this bus deeply and with his whole heart.

Crabbing with Daddy sure is exciting

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Hello August August 7, 2015

Filed under: Family Time,Parenthood — Amy Scott @ 8:31 pm

Here we are one week into August. July went by in a blink. I’ve had a hard time wrapping my mind around August. It’s here. It’s happening. It’s a 1/4 of the way done. What? How did that happen? Seems to be the theme of my life. Time is flying by. In a good way. We started off the month with family visits. We got to hang out with our Ellensburg family on Saturday and then we got the whole crew together on Sunday. We haven’t had Jeremy’s immediate family all together since Christmas and this was the first time for Bennett to be apart of the cousin crowd. It was fun to see all the kids together. I love watching cousins play. It makes my heart happy in a special way.

On Sunday, I officially entered the third trimester. I’m now up to doctor’s appointments every two weeks. It doesn’t feel like I should be at this point but I am. I remarked earlier this week that my appointments have been dull because I’ve had no issues and for that I am grateful. The thought of doubling my visits sounded doubly dull. Then on Wednesday, I had my blood pressure drop considerably low for me (I usually run high), so I had a bad dizzy spell on Wednesday night and a whopper of a headache on Thursday. At Jeremy’s request, I called my doctor’s office and talked to the nurse. While, she wasn’t too concerned, it will probably be a topic of conversation at our next appointment on Monday. Oh goody. So much for no issues. It’s strange to me that with my last pregnancy I developed gestational hypertension and now for this pregnancy, I seem to be doing the opposite. The human body is a strange and unpredictable thing. I’m hoping this is a minor hiccup and nothing major.

Owen will be 22 months as of tomorrow. That means in just two months, I will have a two year old! The terrible twos seem to be upon us already in some ways. In the last month or so, we’ve started doing time outs. It’s quite the ordeal and deeply upsets Owen, but he seems to get the concept. Owen is obsessed with trucks and trains. Every day he pulls out the same bin of trucks and trains. They seem to endless entertain him. Owen loves to tell you what animals say. Many animals have a deep, scary sounding roar. Also, his barking sound for a dog is intense. In contrast, if you ask Owen what a train says, he’ll say “choo-choo” in the sweetest little boy voice ever. I’m tempted to ask him what a train says over and over again just to hear that cute little voice.

Jeremy survived his busy July like champ. My man is a hard worker and I am so proud of him. We’ve loved having him home more now and we are looking forward to lots of family time in the coming weeks. We have a trip to the beach planned. I am excited to see what Owen thinks of the beach since this is his first year to run and play on it. Jeremy is looking forward to letting him explore and see what he fancies. Is he a water kid or a sand kid? We’ll find out! We have a trip to the aquarium planned as well. I hope to do some fall shopping for Owen and start purchasing his 2T wardrobe. His size 18 month clothes are starting to get a bit short on him. Owen is taller than he is wider, so I have a feeling his pants will forever be falling off of him. The struggles of no waist! I’m excited to move him up to the next size and start dreaming of dressing for fall.

That’s the beginning of August thus far! Can’t wait to share the rest of the month’s adventures with you soon.

Everyone wants to be king/queen of the castle!

All the cousins together!

Owen requested that I stop cleaning up from breakfast and snuggle with him and his stuffed animals. I didn’t mind pausing for moments like this. Excuse my bed head!

Enjoying lunch with my forever friend, Maggie, and pregnancy buddy!

Eating an apple from Daddy’s garden

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Owen’s First Camping Trip August 1, 2015

Filed under: Family Time,Parenthood,Travels — Amy Scott @ 6:05 pm

Loaded and ready to go! We packed the car to the brim, but Owen didn’t seem to mind.

Early Wednesday morning, we set off an adventure. Our destination was Crater Lake National Park. Jeremy and I had been planning a camping trip for this summer and up until a few days before we left, we assumed that we would go to our “usual” spots. Jeremy started to do a little research and got all excited about the possibility of going to Crater Lake. He had never been there and I remember it being a fun stop in my childhood. I was game to change the plan and explore a new campground. On the way down, we realized that was the farthest away from home both Owen and Toby have ever been. They handled the car time like champs and I was grateful.

Exploring our campsite

There are so many details about this trip that I would love to share with you! I don’t want this to be a lengthy blog, so I will do my best to pare down the moments. First off, Owen loved looking at the lake. He kept calling it “ba boat”. There were a few boats in the water, but it didn’t matter if a boat was in sight or not, the lake was called “ba boat”. Owen loved the camping experience. He was a dirt ball the whole time and it was quite humorous. I knew he was going to be a mess, so I didn’t even let it phase me. Setting up the tent was a hot experience and not one that I enjoyed. Owen loved it when I inflated the air mattresses. He loved hanging in the tent. This was our first time using this tent even though we bought it last summer. It had plenty of space for the twin and queen air mattresses we brought and it had plenty of room for another family member in the future. We made a smart move when we got this tent.

Loving the tent and air mattresses

One of the best parts of camping is the food. Owen enjoyed watching Jeremy make Jiffy Pop on the camp stove. He also loved the special treats we packed like Doritos, chocolate pudding cups, veggie straws and mini-donuts. I had a chance to make my favorite campfire pizza pockets and s’mores.

I was a little concerned about how Owen and Toby would do out camping together. Toby can be a cranky dog and I try to keep distance between the two. Toby did great with Owen. Toby hates camping and turned into a pathetic pile of a dog while we were out in the woods. He didn’t seem to have any interest into doing anything but looking sad. While I felt for him, I was glad to see that it made him very docile.

Owen looking at ba boat aka Crater Lake

The real adventure came at bedtime. When we first got into the tent, I noticed that queen air mattress had deflated quite a bit over the afternoon. We added more air to it and then started a game of musical sleeping bags. Ideally, Jeremy and I would have slept on the queen together and Owen would have slept on the twin. This will be a goal for future trips as Owen gets older. The final arrangement ended up being Owen, Toby and I all on the queen air mattress with Jeremy on the twin. Getting Owen to sleep took some time, but around 11:00pm the tent was finally down for the night. Or so I thought… I woke up around 1:00am and realized that I was laying on the ground. Our air mattress was leaking air somewhere. I told Jeremy, who was also awake. Owen was sleeping through it all so I thought I would hold out. However, I couldn’t fall back asleep. Being pregnant and all, I get up and use the restroom a couple times a night. I was really trying not to do that while out camping, but after a couple hours of being awake in the middle of the night, I decided I had to go. This meant it was a family outing since Owen woke up when I tried to get up. Toby and Jeremy went and used the men’s room and Owen and I went into the ladies room… at 3:00am. Good times. We added more air to the mattress and got Owen settled back down. I think I was asleep sometime after 4:00am and woke up on the ground again around 6:00am. That put me at a grand total of 4ish hours of sleep… with my toddler plastered to me all night, sleeping on the ground and 27 weeks pregnant. Not the best sleep I’ve ever had. I was sore and tired the next morning.

Happily munching on camp food

Since the air mattress turned into such a giant pickle, we decided to pack up camp on Thursday morning. I was bummed, but I didn’t want to do another repeat night of sleeping on the ground. Owen slept so much better than I expected out camping. He didn’t mind at all that the air mattress deflated. Probably because he was sleeping more on me than the mattress itself. Hopefully next time will go better and we’ll be able to give him two nights out in nature.

Our plan for the day already included in a drive around the lake to the various lookout spots. After we got packed up, we did our drive and then left the park. It was a HOT day and we were amazed at the temperatures our car thermometer were showing. Since it was a 6 hour drive home, we had to make a couple stops for Owen and Toby to stretch their legs. However, the heat made these stops quick. Also, we couldn’t do anything indoors since we had the dog to think about. There was no way we could leave him in the car. Once we got just outside of Portland, we decided to skip the rush hour traffic and find a park to relax in for a while. We got some dinner, ate outside in the shade and then played in the spray park. Owen enjoyed the time out of the car and splashed away while we waited for traffic to clear. It was a nice way to break up the time in the car. Also, I think the water at the spray park did a good job of getting the layer of dirt off of Owen that he had developed while camping.

Overall, it was a good trip full of fun family memories. Even though we left early, we packed two days with tons of activity. I slept so hard Thursday night once we got home. It felt so good to sleep in my own bed. Friday, we went to breakfast together as a family and then went and returned our faulty air mattress since it was a brand new and recent purchase. Despite being home a day early, we still enjoyed our family time together, so it really felt like Friday was still an extension of our camping adventures. And that my friends is Owen’s first camping trip in a nutshell.

Owen loves popcorn so Jiffy Pop was a fun treat!

Love this boy!

Dirty feet

Just chilling

Getting in some snuggles with Toby

What a unique night we survived!

Hanging in the tent while we pack things up

Loving the view of Crater Lake

A very hot ride home! So glad for AC in the car!

Dinner in the park

What a fun to stretch our legs and break up the long ride home

What a fun way to stretch our legs and break up the long ride home

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Keeping Up with Life July 24, 2015

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Family Time,Parenthood — Amy Scott @ 9:59 am

Even though Jeremy got home last Friday after being gone for the week, our lives have only picked up the pace. I had a MOPS leadership retreat last Friday and Saturday. Jeremy and I were ships passing this last weekend. He and Owen ran errands together last Saturday while I was away. Sunday, Jeremy had to work prepping for another week at a local summer camp. Owen and I had a great visit from an out of town friend on Sunday evening while Jeremy was away.

The rest of our week has been full of running errands with Jeremy and play dates with friends. If Owen and I want to hang out with Jeremy, we’ve had to be on mission with him for work. Owen and I had our first experience with the local spray park. I wasn’t sure what Owen would think of it since he tends to like water on his own terms and the weather was a bit cloudy. I am happy to report that spray park was a big hit and I was glad that Owen played in the water without needing me to hover right over him. I’m not a fan of getting wet. I know, I’m weird. Yesterday, I had a friend come over and we did an Anne of Green Gables movie marathon while Jeremy wrapped up his week with the local summer camp.

The evenings have been interesting around here because after Owen goes to bed, Jeremy and I are working side by side our laptops. Jeremy was always prepping for the next day at summer camp and I’ve been running full steam ahead with MOPS publications. We were able to hammer down enough details at our planning retreat for me to really jump into my roles of Table Leader Coordinator and Publications. I nailed down the food rotation and started to work on getting our registration information into flyer and handout form. The next month will be a big push for us to get ladies aware of MOPS and ready to sign up at the beginning of September. Also, I am responsible for the newsletter. I learned my lesson from last year and I often put the newsletter off until the end of the month. Which worked fine when my life only held one toddler boy to keep up with. Moving into the fall, I will be adapting to life as a mother of two and I didn’t want to put the newsletter off. I have started to work on getting the first few months of the newsletter done in rough draft form. This will allow me to tweak them closer to the printing dates, but not have the baulk of the work on my shoulders this fall. My motto for MOPS this year is why do it later when I can get it done now. The leadership retreat gave me the momentum I needed to get a lot accomplished this week and I am happy with where things are right now. It feels good to be prepared and ahead of the game.

Well, that has been our last week in a nutshell. Here are a few pictures from our adventures.

Running errands together has some perks – like stops for frozen yogurt!

This is Owen hanging out in an empty bathtub and me telling him it’s time to get out. Apparently, he was trying to tune me out.

Helping Dad prep for the next day of summer camp

Getting a walk in before bed time

Splashing it up at our MOPS in the Park play date!

Helping Mom make brownies for her Wednesday night class at church

Enjoying a day dedicated to Anne!

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Holding Down the Fort July 18, 2015

Filed under: Family Time,Parenthood — Amy Scott @ 1:21 pm

Jeremy was away at Kid’s Camp this last week. Owen, Toby and I were responsible for holding down the fort while Jeremy was gone. This meant keeping the kid alive, fed, clothed and in fresh diapers. I had plants to water, the trash to put out and bring back in and Toby’s mental health to attend to. Each day included walks down our road so Toby would clear out his system and get good and tired. Our days were full of activity. I wanted the week to fly by fast and I wanted to keep Owen entertained. Just me can get a bit boring. We mixed things up each day and had a lot of fun. In the process of trying to tire Toby and Owen out, I did a good job of tiring myself out too. We still have a big weekend ahead and Jeremy has a big week next week with a local summer camp, but I will be grateful to have my husband home in the evenings and sharing the weight of parenting and household management once again! Below is a look at our day by day activities and how we survived on our own. I’d say it was a successful week!

Monday – Grandma watched Owen so I could go to lunch with a student and run some errands. Our evening was spent playing and I experimented with giving Owen syrup with his French Toast. It was bath night so I called it “Dirty Dinner” and let Owen make a mess. Syrup ended up everywhere, but we had a good time!

Tuesday – We had a play date down south with Aunt Beckie, Nolan and Bennett. When we got home, Grandma brought us Chinese food for dinner! Yum!

Wednesday – This was our most normal day of the week. We stuck to our regular routine. Owen helped me clean the house, we played and spent the evening at church.

Thursday – Auntie April came over to spend the day and night with us. For a special treat, we went to get ice cream at Diary Queen. Owen got his own cone and ate none of it. Silly boy!

Friday - Owen got new books in the mail! We spent the day getting ready for Jeremy to get home and playing. I had a MOPS meeting that evening, so Grandma came over to hang out with Owen until Jeremy could home

Friday – Owen got new books in the mail! We spent the day getting ready for Jeremy to come home and playing. I had a MOPS meeting that evening, so Grandma came over to hang out with Owen until Jeremy could get home.

This is how I rewarded myself for making it through the day! Each day I would have a handful of Sour Patch Kids!

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100 Days to Go! July 17, 2015

Filed under: Home Improvement,Parenthood — Amy Scott @ 2:15 pm

We are at the 100 day mark in the countdown for Baby #2’s arrival! The next three months will go fast. I know this because my life always seems to be whizzing by me. I blink and days, weeks and months vanish. Where does the time go? With the next three months being on the full side, Jeremy and I are pretty much done with our baby prep. This has to be some kind of record. We still have a few things like diapers to stock up and a name to pick… Some minor and major things… but overall, we are ready. At least in the “baby stuff” department. A lot of our preparedness comes from having a lot of the stuff already thanks to Owen. Having two boys in a row means no new wardrobe is needed. Recently, I took down a few boxes of baby clothes and started to wash them and put them away. It’s crazy the memories these little outfits have attached to them. It’s also mind blowing how small these little humans start out as. And how dirty they are! I had to sort through quite a few stained items and get rid of a few pieces that were too far gone. For small creatures, babies are messy! Moving on… The nursery took shape quickly. Once we had the penguin theme set in place, all the elements came together easily. I was surprised at how fast a room can be assembled. Again, it helped that we had pieces like the dresser, changing table and glider already in place. Getting ready for Baby #2 way less overwhelming than preparing for the first baby. I am enjoying the creative side of things without having the doubts and worries of a first time mom. The list of things they tell you to have when you are a first parent is insane. Of course, every item that you don’t have makes you wonder if your baby will be able to survive without it. This time, I know exactly what we need and what will get used. It’s nice going into round 2 with more confidence. I’d been holding off on posting nursery pictures until we were finished and I guess we are at that point! Enjoy the preview!

Lots of peguins! And colors, patterns, numbers and letters!

Owen loves pointing to the numbers on the wall and playing with the stuffed animals in the room.

I love seeing little clothes and little blankets all organized and ready for use! I also love how the laundry basket fits theme color and pattern! Cute, cute, cute!!!

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Logging the Miles July 13, 2015

Filed under: Family Time,Travels — Amy Scott @ 9:15 pm

In the last week, I’ve been all over the PNW. I didn’t really plan for that it happen. While I was putting all these events on the calender, I didn’t really pay attention to how close they would be. The week turned into a bunch of adventures. Life is never dull and traveling the countryside sure makes the days full (and fun).

Thursday, I went up to Tacoma to have Chick-fil-A with my friend, Jessica. She has come back from a year on the east coast where Chick-fil-A was a staple in her diet. It was interesting to explore a new venue since I hadn’t been to the Tacoma store yet. My meal was very tasty and I almost cried when I reached my last waffle fry. Note to self – upgrade to a larger fry next time! It was great to have some girl time with Jess and chat about life.

Tacoma Adventures with Jessica for some Chick-fil-A

Friday, our little family took off to Portland for the Oregon Zoo. Our plan had been to do that earlier in the week, but the hot weather kept us from going. I’m glad we waited since our morning at the zoo was a mixture of clouds and sun. The animals were out enjoying the lower temperatures. We got to see a lot of them out and about which is always a treat. Owen loved the zoo this summer! He liked it last year, but it was exciting to see how much his enthusiasm has grown. We didn’t take a stroller in. Owen walked/ran through the whole park on his own two feet. I was surprised/impressed with how many animal names he could say and the sounds that accompanied them. He is a sponge right now for information and it’s neat to see him learning and making sense of this crazy world.

Loving our family time at the Oregon Zoo

Sunday, Owen and I went up north of Seattle to celebrate the birthday of my best friend’s daughter. It was a long drive there and back, but totally worth it. I was glad that we got to celebrate Summer’s milestone birthday with her family. It was cute to see Owen and Summer interact. They hit it all right off the bat. Maggie and I joke about doing some matchmaking with those two and it seems like they are off to a promising start!

Maggie threw an adorble Pink Lemonade themed party for Summer’s first birthday! What a special little lady!

Today, Owen and I went down south to visit Aunt Beckie and the cousins. With Nolan and Owen only being 5 weeks apart, it’s great to have built in buddies when it comes to cousins. The boys played hard. It was adorable to see them mimic each other and run around keeping up with one another. I got to have some snuggle time with my littlest nephew, Bennett, who woke up just before we left. Being an auntie is such a joy. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

Play date with Nolan & Bennett

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Celebrating 9 Years! July 8, 2015

Filed under: Family Time,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 3:10 pm

The kiss that sealed the deal!

Today marks 9 years of wedded bliss for Jeremy and I. Okay, not all moments have been bliss, but it’s been a good 9 years and God has been so faithful to us. I remember when Jeremy and I started talking. I was so surprised that he was interested in me. At age 18, the 5 year age difference seemed like a big deal. Why would this mature, Godly man want to date me? I was taken back by his interest but I was pleasantly surprised when our relationship kept developing. Jeremy was more than I could have hoped for! God really blessed me. While I knew that Jeremy had a heart for ministry and he wanted to be a pastor, I learned a lot of things about him that I didn’t know. I learned that Jeremy is a hunter and a golfer. Later on when we purchased our house, I learned that Jeremy loves plants and will grow just about anything he can try. He is into superhero movies and sci-fi. He is a weather geek and if we lived in the Midwest, I’m positive that he would be a storm chaser. He also keeps up on local volcanoes and their activity. He is a man of many diverse hobbies as you can see.

Jeremy is the kind of guy that has plenty to do to fill his time. He is often outside in the yard these days sharing his love of nature with our son. He keeps up with the outdoor maintenance which is something I appreciate since I am indoor girl. Give me a vacuum over a lawn mower any day! With his full days and many hobbies, Jeremy still had time for his family. He puts Owen and I first before his own interests. I know that he makes sacrifices so I feel loved and get quality time with him. He is super involved with Owen and gives me many chances to rest and have breaks. He is thoughtful about that. Jeremy is also a super hard worker. His job is busy and sometimes has a crazy schedule attached to it. I am always amazed at how Jeremy gives 100% at work providing for us and then comes home continues to give 100% to our family.

I am beyond blessed. I am so thankful that this man is in my life. The last 9 years have held many adventures and memories. God has continued to grow us closer together and I believe that the best is yet to come. I am so lucky that I get to walk alongside Jeremy in life. He is a wonderful husband and father. He is a hard worker and caring pastor. He is goofy and laid back and go-with-the-flow. We compliment each other in so many ways and I know that his influence is good for me. He makes me slow down and enjoy life. He encourages me not to worry and stress. I am better person because he is in my life. I will forever be grateful that he looked my way!

We had dinner to celebrate our anniversary last night. We then took a picture at the waterfront where Jeremy proposed to me!

He didn’t have to get me anything, but apparently Jeremy knows the way to my heart is with candy!

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Ending June, Starting July and lots to Celebrate! July 7, 2015

Filed under: Family Time,Parenthood,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 10:51 am

It’s been a few weeks since I sat down to blog. The days have been full and by the time Owen goes to sleep, I am usually ready for bed myself. This has meant less down time for me to just hang out on the blog. Sometimes sleep comes first! It’s my new motto – sleep now, do other stuff later!

We’ve been hot, hot, hot here in the PNW. It’s rare, but we’ve been in a massive heat wave. The 90+ degree days have gotten old now that they have been around for a couple of weeks. We’ve been playing chess with our portable air conditioner and the fans. Overall, we’ve been able to keep the house cool. I’m so grateful! I’m okay with one or two days of heat… I am so over the endless warmth that has seemed to move in. As a result, we’ve been spending a lot of time outside. Owen has been splashing around the front yard. It’s really felt like summer in that regard. I’m not an outdoor girl, so I’ve been stretched this summer. My idea of a good summer day (or any day) is being inside with a book. That has not been my summer, but that is okay. This is a different season of my life. I’m sure some day I’ll have plenty of inside days and books to read.

Family time has been the name of the game over the last few weeks. We’ve gotten to see quite a bit of our immediate families and we’ve been blessed to enjoy the summer sunshine with them. Owen has especially enjoyed the cousin time. Kids in the yard, running around, having fun – yep, this is what summer is all about!

This last weekend was a big one for celebrations! On Friday, we celebrated my dad’s almost 60th birthday a few days early. We had pizza and a cake and then wrapped up the night with John Deere rides in the front yard. Saturday was Independence Day and we spent it over at Papa & Nana’s house. Owen got to splash around the yard with his cousin, Nolan. We got to catch up with Jeremy’s brother and sister-in-law and hear about life with two kiddos. Of course, I got a few snuggles in with my newest nephew, Bennett.

Sunday rounded out the big weekend with a massive celebration at our church. This spring, through generous donations over the years, we were able to pay off the mortgages of both our Chehalis and Centralia campuses. We had a Freedom Party to rejoice over the fact that we are now debt free. My father who is all about debt free living got to present the numbers on how much we will have saved in the long run without a mortgage and interest. Now we can put that money back into the community and use it for kingdom work. I thought it was fitting that on my dad’s actual birthday we got to blow up the mortgages. We literally blew them up. No pieces or ashes remain. Bye-bye mortgage! It’s gone forever! The party ran late into the night and ended with a giant fireworks display. I took Owen home after the mortgage explosion since waiting up for the fireworks was beyond his toddler bedtime. The pictures and videos I saw of the fireworks were impressive. What a perfect way to end a big weekend and a huge celebration.

Water time!

Sunny play date with the cousins

Owen loves his wagon. He asks or should I say demands rides daily.

Living outside this summer

S’more season!

Learning colors and keeping cool!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Owen might want John Deere rides every time he visits Grandpa now!

Enjoying a family filled 4th of July

Owen loved the swing ride at the Freedom Party! He went on that ride at least 6 times!

My Dad explaining the freedom of debt free living!

BOOM! There goes the mortgage!

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Hello Summer June 24, 2015

Filed under: Family Time,Parenthood — Amy Scott @ 11:01 pm

It’s officially summer! I feel like the official start to summer sort of snuck under the radar with it being the same day as Father Day. Plus, it feels like summer moved in a while ago since we’ve been having fantastic weather this June. It’s crazy how sunny and warm it’s been. While, I love the sun and the long days, I can’t say I am huge fan of the heat. I am grateful for box fans and our portable air conditioner. They will be very well used and loved as we head into a heat wave.

June has been a unique month for us. By the time the month is over, we will have been to the doctor’s office three times. Two of these visits are just our regular appointments and one was the 20 week ultrasound. All is good, but these many appointments definitely have Baby #2 in the forefront of my mind. Well, that and the fact that I’m really looking and feeling pregnant these days. The bump is there and my center of balance is already off. I’m a bit tippy and getting out of bed already takes some effort. Our little one is also very active. Every kick (which there are many) is a reminder that I am not alone.

For various reasons, July, August and September are going to be full months. This led us to making June our big “baby” prep month. We waited to find out the gender and have it confirmed. Once we had confirmation, we dove in. The room has been painted and the theme is really coming to life. In a few weeks we will on work getting the wall art up. I am excited to see the progress we’ve made. We are in really good shape. I like being ahead of the game. Now we can slow down and wait somewhat patiently for the arrival of our next little man.

Many people have asked what Owen thinks of the new baby. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t think of the new baby at all. For all I know, he assumes this new penguin room is for his pleasure. I’m not too stressed about getting the baby concept across to him right now. In a lot of ways, I want to just enjoy the time where he is my only little one. We spend our days playing with cars and discovering new foods. Owen has been in a growth spurt phase. He is changing daily and becoming more and more like a little boy. I love being home with Owen to play and snuggle and laugh. These are good days, even with their crazy moments. I want to enjoy them for what they are worth. This season with only one kiddo will pass and I want to make the most of it.

The family member that has had the hardest time with all the change is probably our Toby dog. Moving his crate from the nursery into our room really rocked Toby’s world. The first week was rough whenever we left him locked in the crate. We are learning a lot of about Toby in this process. Being in our room, he can’t see the door like he used to and that is apparently a big deal. We would come home to messes in the crate. Even if there was no mess, Toby would still bang around in his crate to a point where he could see out our door. I think we’ve come up with a solution to move his crate over a few feet while we are gone. We tried it for church tonight and sure enough, his crate was right where we left it. I am glad that we are learning these Toby quirks now and not when we are sleep deprived with a newborn and a toddler demanding our attention. My original logic was doing things early will give Owen time to adapt to all the change coming… I have since learned that Toby is the one who needed the special attention. I always say that Toby is psychologically special. He continues to prove that statement true.

June has been such a full month in a lot of ways other than baby preparations. Jeremy has had two flat tires. Our car had to go into the shop for a tune-up. In fact, we might have to take it in again to get another light cleared. The light that lets you know you have a headlight out is on, but the kicker is none of our headlights are actually out. So weird…

Our neighborhood has been struggling with rust colored water randomly coming through our pipes. The water company has been out numerous times and the problem seems to be getting better but isn’t completely solved. It makes doing every load of laundry a possible risk. Will I have normal water or will I ruin a whole load of clothes with rust water? It’s a gamble that makes me very nervous. I’m the type of person who does at least one load of laundry a day, so this roulette game with the water is quite frustrating.

Father’s Day weekend was a fun one for our family. Jeremy went to see Jurassic World with his dad. My dad made yummy brisket for the family. Owen and I got Jeremy a panini press as his gift and sandwiches are now a daily staple in our house. Like I said, these are good days. I want to soak them up like the summer sun. Jeremy is a busy man who has lots of demands on his time. I am grateful for the way he provides for our family and all that he does to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. He is a wonderful support and I am blessed to raise our son(s) with him. He is a fantastic dad and husband. I am lucky. I cherish our family time together. I also cherish the alone time he gives me when he takes Owen under wing. Owen and Daddy have many yard adventures so Mommy can have time in the house to get things done. I have it good. Really good.