Happy may day..

10 days from now is 1 year anniversary of the date i was due to have Ethan.. was he born on that day? no.. but ill always remember may 10th.. when your pregnant people ask you your due date a couple thousand times.. so that date will forever be engraved into my mind as significant. it was also mother's day last year..

We are getting ready for Ethan's first birthday. Im still a little blown away at how quickly 1 year went by. And by how much he's changed.. from a little snuggly swaddled bunting, to a toothless-crawling-mini-monster, to a walking-babbling-2-toothed-mini-man with a ton of personality. The way he dances and laughs and falls down in his excitement when i get home from work, or the way he gives me slobbery kisses, or how sweet he looks when he sleeps on his tummy with his butt in the air..man, i love that kid. God has totally blessed us with a happy healthy handsome little boy.

On another note. Work has been changing a lot in the Holmes family. Seth accepted a new job as the accounting supervisor at a local family owned company. He is really excited to start on this new adventure and excited for new oppurtunities and to learn new skills to add to his resume. My employer was finally able to hire me on as a relief worker, so im not considered a temp anymore and im hoping to get going on that soon. Its been a real answer to prayer for us. We are hoping to purchase a home in the next year, but in order to get approved for a loan, my income wasnt even considered, being at a temp status. So hopefully we can get the ball rolling on that soon. :)

thats all for now. if your reading this, hope to see you at Ethan's birthday celebration! if you havent received an evite, and would like to stop by, will you please leave a comment with your correct email address?? :) thank you!

Here are a few misc pics of the family. The first is Ethan when i didnt feed him his oatmeal fast enough...i figured considering how angry he already was, i might as well snap a photo..the next one is his polar opposite, my happy son Ethan. with a diaper on his head. the 2 with the green shirt were taken at worship practice. he was having fun "dancing" to the music. and the last one is Seth and Ethan walking around the mall. that kid is ALWAYS on the move now. :)

Easter

So, Ethan actually slept through a majority of easter. so i dont have any photos of him. But there's photos of some of the other family.. Josh and Jason dumping their loot. Jason and Addison (a little girl that my mom watches also) posing together. We had an awesome dinner. I ate way to much. we went to church and this year our church combined the early and later service into one and had it at the high school auditorium. the place was packed. the worship was awesome. Josh played the drums which was awesome. Pastor John had some really awesome words about our efforts here on earth and the promises we have to look forward to.

On another note. Seth and I have started searching for our first "home"... we have actually moved 7 times in our almost 4 years of marriage but this would be the first time we actually buy. we are tentativly searching. luckily for us the market is a very devastated market, many houses for sale, and not really anyone buying. we have so many to choose from but need to have some financial issues with work tied up before we can really move to the next step (putting in an offer)... anyways, our prayers is that God would provide the perfect place for us, and in His perfect timing.


litttle addison searching for eggs

i threw in this random pic of Ethan because it makes me laugh.

travel size

so... ive recently discovered the power of the coupon.. but yesterday i had an epiphane(sp?).. perhaps if i cant spell something i shouldnt use the word.. i digress.... so... some coupons have the little tiny disclaimer "not valid on travel size" however some coupons dont. thus my example. $1 off coupon for any clean and clear product used toward a $.99 bottle.. well you know the rest.. for the 6 travle size items (except full size sure deodorant) total retail : $7.16 .. total after coupons $1.36. woohoo!

April showers.. bah humbug..

I know they are supposed to bring may flowers and all.. but really? rain 7 days in a row?... i hate how much it affects how i feel physically and mentally. If summer were just a little sooner...

I gave the blog a facelift, as youve probably already noticed. i love how it turned out. i was looking at some blogs of DIY home makeover ideas, not that i have a home yet, but it inspired me to makeover my blog, since i needed SOMETHING to utilize my artisitic inspiration.

Seth and I are hoping and praying to buy a house soon. there are a lot of things hanging in the balance that affect whether or not we will get into one this spring/summer or not... mostly work and finance-related on both our parts, but we feel very at peace and happy where we are in this season of our lives and are excitedly expectant of what God has in store for us this year.

Here are some recent photos of our little trouble maker. Ethan is officially walking, and hopefully i can post a video soon.. he amazes us everyday with his developing changes and personality. he also has quite the sense of humor..btw he gives the sweetest kisses... makes me smile everytime i think about it. We are excited to celebrate our first easter as a family.

i couldnt help but to post this one... he's just so funny! sorry for anyone thats offended by this photo... is this illegal?... anyways, he was fresh outta the bath and loves being in his birthday suit!

wish i knew what was on his mind.

..

"oh.. you know you want to feed me more french toast!!..."

"thats more like it.."

cheeeeeese!!!

this is what ive been up to in my spare minutes... for those of you who ARENT avid twilighters, this is the 4th book of the series.. im just getting prepped for the next movie to come out is all.. p.s. if youve never watched the commentary version of the first twilight movie, i highly recommend.. very interesting, little hints and secrets about the filiming of the movie, the sets, the cast, the locations. very cool.. ok. so im obsessed. at least i dont have a bag that says "team edward" on it......

so granted, you might find it a little strange that i posted a picture of the contents of my last trip to safeway, however, im too excited about the deals that i got to not share (brag) about them...

2- 24 roll packs of t.p.

2- boxes of cheerios

2- boxes kashi brand cereal

2- healthy choice frozen dinners

3- boxes rice-a-roni

6 boxes instant pudding

1 packet crystal light

1 loaf whole wheat bread

1 softsoap body wash

1 pam spray oil

1 4 pack yo-plus yogurt

1 4 pack yopait delights (yum for the record)

3- bags frozen corn

1 lb smoked turkey breast

1 bag honey graham gold fish

1 can mighty dog dog food

1 cucumber...

total retail value: $91.00

after coupons,sales,clubcard,freebie vouchers, total spent $41.00

(p.s. the toilet paper was $10 a peice making my total GROCERY bill $$$21.00!!!!!)

i still cant belieive it...

After work thoughts...

Just got done with work. Sitting here watching Jeopardy and watching Ethan play with his toys. Its truly amazing how quickly this little boy has grown and changed. As his personality develops and he starts to become more personable, I fall more in love with the little guy every day.. does he know that the word he's constantly repeating is "dope"?... when he crawls into the kitchen looking for food, does he know its innapropriate to try and pull down my pants in his effort to get food?.. does he know crying at 2 am isnt what humans do? his obsession with bread and bananas makes me laugh. Will he ever know how cute it is when he laughs around his binky? Or how sweet his open mouth kisses are? or how it breaks my heart when i have to tell him no for sucking on the laptop computer.... Not till he is a daddy himself some day i assume..

He loves it when we read books and sing him songs.. if you pause your song he will grunt in his cute little way to ask us to continue.. and i love his silly little giggle when i set him up to walk accross the room with his little car..silly boy.

He is such a blessing. God is smiling me when i look at my little boy.

On another subject. Seth and I went to a blazer's game a few days ago.. Mike and Molly had some tickets available. It was so nice to get out and do something new. and they won. no free chalupas though :(. (thanks for thinking of us M&M) :)

we were also able to get away last month for a day and go snowboarding for the first time in 2 years. ( i was busy being pregnant last year) we discovered how 2 years was too long. gotta get on that elliptical... but we had a great day nevertheless... mt hood is beautiful. and it was completely clear and sunny!

So looking forward to spring. I want to help finance some seedlings for moms' garden (considering all i have is a porch, no yard) really craving some garden fresh veggies, and some summer fruits.. its so scary buying produce anymore with all the awful salmonella outbreaks. if you havent seen the movie Food Inc. We HIGHLY reccomend it.. great documentary.

Enjoy these recent pics. :)

HAITI CONCERT

Last night there was a benefit concert for raising funds to help Haiti,

here's a crummy couple of photos from my cell phone.. Josh at the drums.. Erics' dancing around, thus the blur.. Josh H. and James at the guitars :)..

completley unrelated-- a super cute photo of Ethan playing in the bathtub ;)

February is gone...

where did it go? 28 days seem like 2 lately...

I dont have any recent pictures to post, but i will throw in a quick update..

Seth and i continue to be busy with work, but try and make time weekly to spend time together with the help of some really great babysitters.. We are both involved in worship team at our church and really enjoy it. Seth started the "biggest loser" contest at work and has already lost 22 pounds in just 8 weeks! unbelievable! i got back into pottery, joining a local co-op that i go to weekly..we both are love being a mommy and daddy. Speaking of Ethan, he is growing rediculously fast.. changing every day, his personality, mobility, and vocabulary. He likes to say "dope" a lot. real cute. not sure where he picked that up.. his favorite activity is taking baths, which, he will try and crawl in at any time.. along with "fishing" for toilet paper when we forget to put the seat cover down. oops.

he is walking easily with assistance, and will take 1-2 steps alone before sitting, but he's on the move for sure! he is just starting to show signs of seperation anxiety and shyness around people, which i realize is a normal phase, but i thought for a while it wouldnt come.. he was always so chipper and sunshiney around people. When i took him in for his 9 month well child check, the poor kid panicked when they were measuring and weighing him. understandably so, as they stripped him naked to put him in the scale. poor fella... speaking of measurments, his current height is OFF the charts, at 30 and 3/4 inches long, however he did lose a pound since his last appt topping off at about 19 and 1/2 lbs. so tall and skinny dude. :)

alltogether, a happy and healthy Holmes family, very much looking forward to the summer. :)